Dutch Official Calls on Europe to Open Markets to Biotech Foods
Europe should no longer exclude genetically modified agricultural products from the U.S., in the view of Economic Affairs Minister Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst. ‘The U.S. rightly complains about trade barriers,’ he said yesterday in The Hague during a University of Leiden meeting.

Financial Snapshot For November 2003: Hangin’ In There

A dietary magic bullet?
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you can throw down a Longevinex pill, the new foe of culinary hedonism.

FDA, Industry Collaborate On Genomics Guide
Last month, the FDA issued its long-awaited draft guidelines for pharmacogenomic data submission. Companies large and small have been anxious to get their hands on these guidelines, for they are a critical starting point in the agency’s efforts to come up with the most appropriate requirements for pharmacogenomic data as part of a new drug application (NDA), a biologics license application (BLA) or even an investigational new drug application (IND).

Canola Case Tests GMO Patent
The future of genetically modified crops in North America is in the hands of a 73-year-old Canadian canola farmer named Percy Schmeiser.
Schmeiser already has lost two court cases dealing with his use of seed designed by Monsanto, but he and his supporters have made it to the Supreme Court of Canada with a new argument: Monsanto’s patent is invalid.

Food Biotech Is Risky Business
The genetically modified food industry has battled opposition from consumer and environmental groups to get its food on the table. Its lobbyists have cajoled skeptical politicians; its scientists have produced studies contradicting other studies suggesting the food is somehow tainted.
Now the industry faces another hurdle with long-range, dire consequences: It may be uninsurable.

NBI On Drugs
You won’t recognize the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) the next time you see it. It’s undergone a radical change, bulking up to nearly twice its original size by adding 55 more companies to the list. The new Index, which debuted November 24, now consists of 129 firms � and many of the new additions are drug companies (including specialty pharmas and generic drug manufacturers).

Glowing red GM fish to sell in US
A tropical fish that fluoresces bright red is set to become the first genetically modified pet to go on sale in the US. Alan Blake and colleagues at Yorktown Technologies LP say the GloFish will be available from January 2004.

Slowdown casts doubt on biotech offerings
After a two-year capital drought, seven biotechnology and life sciences companies made initial public offerings in October and early this month. Now the newly issued stock of six of those companies is underwater — and one, Acusphere Inc. of Watertown, has lost 50 percent of its value since going public…

Machine Could Sequence Human Genome in a Year
A new gene-reading machine is so much faster than existing technology that it could sequence the human genome in a year while it took more than 10 years the first time around.