FDA Approves AquAdvantage® Salmon (genetically engineered)

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 19 November 2015 – AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AIM: ABTU; OTC: AQBT), a biotechnology company focused on enhancing productivity in aquaculture, and a majority-owned subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), announces today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company’s New Animal Drug Application for the production, sale, and consumption of its AquAdvantage® Salmon, an Atlantic salmon that has been genetically enhanced to reach market size in less time than conventional farmed Atlantic salmon.
Ronald L. Stotish, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty, commented, “AquAdvantage Salmon is a game-changer that brings healthy and nutritious food to consumers in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging the ocean and other marine habitats. Using land-based aquaculture systems, this rich source of protein and other nutrients can be farmed close to major consumer markets in a more sustainable manner.”
The U.S. currently imports over 90% of all the seafood, and more specifically over 95% of the Atlantic salmon, it consumes. AquAdvantage Salmon will offer the opportunity for an economically viable domestic aquaculture industry while providing consumers a fresh and delicious product.
Through greater efficiency and localized production, AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage Salmon increases productivity while reducing costs and the environmental impacts associated with current salmon farming operations. Land-based aquaculture systems can provide a continuous supply of fresh, safe, traceable, and sustainable AquAdvantage Salmon to communities across the U.S. and do it with a reduced carbon footprint. Importantly, it offers an alternative approach to fish farming that does not exploit the oceans.
Jack A. Bobo, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer at Intrexon, stated, “The U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee encourages Americans to eat a wide variety of seafood—including wild caught and farmed—as part of a healthy diet rich in healthy fatty acids. However, this must occur in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. FDA’s approval of the AquAdvantage Salmon is an important step in this direction.”

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. is a publicly traded company whose largest shareholder is Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON). Intrexon is a synthetic biology company with diverse interests in medicine, food and agriculture, and fuels and the environment. AquaBounty is an aquaculture company focused on improving productivity in commercial aquaculture, a $144 billion industry and the fastest-growing segment of the worldwide food industry. The Company’s objective is the application of biotechnology to ensure the availability of high quality seafood to meet global consumer demand. AquaBounty is developing products to address critical production constraints in the most popular farmed species, focusing initially on salmon, trout, and tilapia. Its AquAdvantage® fish program is based upon a single, specific molecular modification in fish that results in more rapid growth in early development.