The big topic at last year’s ASTA CSS 2013 and Seed Expo was The Accord, which is an industry agreement developed to provide a mechanism to transition from proprietary biotech events to off-patent or generic biotech events. Just prior to the expo this year, the second part of what is now called the AgAccord was opened up for signature. That is the Data Use and Compensation Agreement or DUCA, as ASTA Vice President for Science and International Affairs Bernice Slutsky explains.
“Last year when we were talking about the accord we had just completed the first agreement, the Generic Event Marketability and Access Agreement or the GEMMA, and we have now completed the second agreement – the DUCA…so the AgAccord is now complete,” said Bernice.
The DUCA will become operational once six parties sign, three that hold proprietary regulatory property or have petitioned the USDA to deregulate an event, and three parties that do not hold proprietary regulatory property, such as a seed company or national farm organization. The AgAccord was triggered in anticipation of the very first biotech event scheduled to go off patent at the end of 2014, which is Monsanto’s Roundup Ready trait.
This is a pretty complex issue, but very important for the transition of biotech events to the off-patent market, particularly when it comes to international trade. “We’re really being proactive,” said Bernice. “These are highly regulated products and that regulation has an impact on our exports.” Interview with Bernice Slutsky, ASTA