World’s largest animal cloning factory to start production next year
The world’s largest animal cloning factory, in Tianjin in northern China, is 80 per cent complete and is likely to be brought on stream in the first half of next year. The commercial animal cloning centre is a joint venture by Sinica, Peking University’s Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine and South Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation. Sinica is a subsidiary of Wuxi-based Boyalife Group which focuses on stem cell and regenerative medicine research. The factory will clone high-quality breeds including sniffer dogs, racehorses and high-grade beef cattle.100,000 cattle embryos a year will be produced in the first phase before expanding annual output to one million in the second. The final amount of investment might reach US$1 billion.

An artist’s impression of the completed “cloning factory” in Tianjin. Photo: Thepaper.cn