Genetically modified pig bacon safe for people developing red meat allergy: Research

According to an AP report, David Ayares, chief scientist officer of Revivicor Inc., said, “We get hundreds and hundreds of orders,” while opening a freezer stocked with ground pork patties, ham, ribs, and pork chops.

The allergy, Alpha-gal syndrome, named after a sugar found in nearly all mammal tissues except humans and some primates, can trigger severe reactions hours after consuming beef, pork, or other red meats, as well as certain mammalian products like milk or gelatin.

However, a major obstacle in animal-to-human organ transplantation from genetically modified pigs is the presence of alpha-gal sugar, which triggers the human immune system to reject organs from regular pigs. Therefore, Revivicor’s first genetic modification focused on deactivating the gene responsible for producing alpha-gal.

Although xenotransplantation remains experimental, Revivicor’s “GalSafe” pigs received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2020 to be used as a food source and potentially for human therapeutics. According to AP, the FDA confirmed there was no detectable level of alpha-gal across multiple generations of the pigs.

While Revivicor, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics, solely focuses on xenotransplantation research, it is yet to find anyone in the agriculture business interested in selling GalSafe pork.

Revivicor houses its GalSafe herd in Iowa and controls its size by processing some meat in a US Agriculture Department-certified slaughterhouse. The company then ships frozen packages to alpha-gal syndrome patients who have filled out applications for the pork.

In Virginia, Revivicor runs a farm where pigs with different gene modifications for xenotransplant research are housed. Among them was a GalSafe pig used as the source for a recent experimental kidney transplant at NYU Langone Health.

The question remains: Can pigs used for transplantable organs also be used for meat afterward? According to United Therapeutics spokesman Dewey Steadman, the answer is no. The strong anesthesia required to ensure the animals feel no pain during organ removal disqualifies them from meeting USDA standards for drug-free food.