Bioceres announces regulatory approval of drought-tolerant HB4 wheat by CTNBio

Company achieves milestone in the industry with the approval of a concession for the unprecedented commercialization of cereal with biotechnology

12.11.2021 | 09:20 (UTC -3)
Felipe Teruel
Company achieves a milestone in the industry with the approval of a concession for the unprecedented commercialization of cereal with biotechnology. - Photo: Wenderson Araujo/CNA
Company achieves a milestone in the industry with the approval of a concession for the unprecedented commercialization of cereal with biotechnology. - Photo: Wenderson Araujo/CNA

Bioceres, a fully integrated global provider of agricultural productivity solutions designed to enable agriculture's transition to carbon neutrality, has received approval to import HB4 wheat flour for animal and human consumption from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MCTI ).

After a rigorous review process that included the use of datasets from transcriptomic, genomic, metabolomic and proteomic techniques to support the scientific assessment of the safety of HB4 wheat, the National Biosafety Commission (CTNBio) - an agency that brings together recognized and diverse scientists experts - unanimously endorsed the biosafety conditions for flour obtained with HB4 wheat.

The comprehensive regulatory process involved the development of cutting-edge methodologies by Bioceres to address allergen risk concerns and demonstrate the safety equivalence of HB4 wheat to its conventional counterpart.

The approval is an important step towards building climate-resilient agriculture systems that use wheat as a key component for crop rotation. Wheat is a staple food for billions of people around the world, and a crop that has remained an orphan in the biotechnology sphere despite being planted on 200 million hectares globally.

In October 2020, Argentina granted the first approval of HB4 wheat for growth and consumption. The commercialization of HB4 wheat in Argentina is subject to Brazilian approval, as Brazil is the main export market for Argentine wheat production. Argentina is the largest wheat producing country in the southern hemisphere, resulting in an annual opportunity of 6 to 8 million hectares.

Significant resources and efforts have supported this significant milestone, which could not have been achieved without the continued support of Bioceres' partners, TMG - Tropical Melhoramento & Genética, a Brazilian company providing genetic solutions for agricultural development - who led the regulatory processes together with CTNBio and Florimond Desprez, co-developer of HB4 wheat and partner of Bioceres in Trigall Genetics. Furthermore, the trust of our shareholders and the strong commitment of the teams involved in all research, development and regulatory processes were also essential in this journey.

Bioceres has been expanding HB4 wheat stocks through its identity-preserved HB4 Program and is currently harvesting 55 hectares. Considering the availability of stock for the next planting season and the importance of this regulatory framework in relation to its commercial prospects, the company will update the cultivated area projections for 2022 soon.

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