AcumenIST Steffi Friedrichs delivered a Policy Brief during the closing session of the international gene editing conference “CRISPRing – A New Beginning for the Genetic Improvement of Plants and Microbes” , which was held on the 3.-5. September 2018 in Budapest, Hungary.
“[…] the research results presented over these three days focus on providing solutions to some of the most pressing societal and environmental problems communities around the globe are confronted with.“
[Dr Steffi Friedrichs, CRISPRing Conference, 3.-5. September 2018, Budapest]
The full Policy Briefing paper can be downloaded from the conference website.
130 experts from over 20 countries had gathered to review recent progress that had been achieved in the field of CRISPR-mediated gene editing in plants and microbes. With a broad coverage of topics, the symposium aimed to represent a forum for addressing current scientific interest and for exchanging research experience and developments; it addressed technical aspects of gene editing and covered socio-economic impact and regulatory issues related to future products and developments in the field.
The conference was overshadowed by the unexpected decision, handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in Luxembourg on the 25. July 2018, which ruled that within the EU gene edited crops would be subject to the same stringent regulations as conventional genetically modified (GM) organisms.
In her closing remarks, Dr Friedrichs concluded that:
“This excellent CRISPRing meeting and the amount of knowledge exchanged through it within just three days demonstrates that the best action the scientific community can take is to continue doing what it does best: conduct novel research work with and on CRISPR in particular and other genome editing techniques in general, thereby gathering evidence and knowledge that addresses both the public and the regulatory concerns surrounding this new suite of techniques.”
[Dr Steffi Friedrichs, CRISPRing Conference, 3.-5. September 2018, Budapest]
