Agribusiness consultant Philips McDougal reported the results of a research survey on the cost of marketing a biotech crop. It  showed that the cost of discovery, development and authorization of a new plant biotechnology trait introduced between 2008 and 2012 is US$136 million. The survey conducted in September 2011 was based on the information provided by leading major biotech crop developers BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont/Pioneer Hi-Bred, Monsanto and Syngenta AG. Biotech crops which have been commercialized in two countries and import approvals from at least five countries were considered. The Report also showed that:

• the time from the initiation of a discovery project to commercial launch is 13.1 years on average for all relevant crops;
• the time associated with registration and regulatory affairs is increasing from a mean of 3.7 years for an event introduced before 2002, to the current (2011) estimated 5.5 years;
• regulatory science, registration and regulatory affairs accounts for the longest phase in product development, estimated at 36.7 percent of total time involved; and
• the trend in the number of units (candidate genes, constructs or genetic events) being screened in order to develop one trait is increasing.

The original news can be seen at http://www.croplife.org/PhillipsMcDougallStudy.