Genus plc (LON:GNS), a leading global animal genetics company, is hosting a Capital Markets Event today at 10.00am in London for institutional investors and sell-side analysts.
Chief Executive Officer, Jorgen Kokke, and Chief Financial Officer, Alison Henriksen, will be joined by senior leaders from the Group’s porcine division, Pig Improvement Company (“PIC”), to take a deep dive into the Group’s pioneering PRRS* Resistant Pig (“PRP”) programme and the path to commercialisation.
PRRS is the most economically significant disease affecting US pork production1. Symptoms of PRRS include fever, respiratory distress, premature births and increased post wean mortality. Genus has demonstrated that its PRP is resistant to prevalent PRRS strains2.
The Company is preparing for commercialisation of PRP whilst regulatory approvals in various countries are in progress. The Colombian government was the first to issue a positive determination for PRP last month, and, as previously outlined, Genus anticipates approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in the first half of 2024.
Speakers at the event will outline:
· The strength of PIC’s platform; market-leading genetics, a well-invested global supply chain to disseminate PRP genetics to customers, deep relationships with long-term customers underpinned by the royalty model and a world class team
· The technical performance of PRP genetics; how the CD163 gene edit works, why PIC’s research shows it delivers PRRS resistance, the strong intellectual property position and how PIC breeds homozygous edited animals
· The impact PRRS has on the pork value chain; PRRS is an increasingly endemic global disease affecting almost all major pork producing regions. Research suggests that more than 60% of US sow herds are PRRS positive at any given time3 and that the average cost to US pig farmers is approximately $6/pig
· How PIC plans to disseminate PRP genetics; investments PIC has made in the PRP supply chain ahead of commercialisation and how dissemination to customer systems will work in practice once FDA and other regulatory approvals have been granted
· PIC’s strategy for driving market acceptance; how PIC is developing thoughtful and responsible messaging for all stakeholders in the pork value chain, the research investments PIC is making to quantitatively demonstrate the welfare and sustainability benefits, and the industry partners PIC is working with to communicate the shared benefits of PRP
· The PRP regulatory timeline; progress being made with the FDA and regulatory bodies in other countries, including those that are important US export markets
· The opportunity for Genus; the global market opportunity, the potential financial performance of PRP in the US and the prospect of compelling returns on Genus’s investments
A copy of the CME presentation will be made available on the Group’s investor relations website (https://www.genusplc.com/investors) and a recording of the event will be published as soon as practicable after the event.
