17 March 2012
Forestry science investor Rubicon says regulatory changes in the United States will benefit ArborGen, the US-based biotech company it one-third owns. Changes announced by the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will shorten the time required to gain approval for the commercial release of biotech products. The changes may allow ArborGen to get its freeze-tolerant eucalyptus seedlings - which are currently the subject of a petition for deregulation - to market sooner than previously expected.Rubicon, which listed on the NZX in 2001, was formed out of the separation of Fletcher Challenge Group when it acquired the biotech assets of Fletcher Challenge Forests.
ArborGen, which also has operations in the Bay of Plenty, uses biotechnology to develop high productivity forest cultivars.
Story by Christopher Adams, copyright NZ Herald. To read the full story, click here.