Auckland Council says clinical trials and medical applications involving genetically modified organisms (GMOs) would not be put at risk under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.
The council has recently responded to the University of Auckland regarding Pexa-Vec, a trial for a cancer vaccine, amid concerns the proposed plan will prohibit those kinds of activities.
However Penny Pirrit, Auckland Council’s Director Regulatory Services, says the council doesn’t believe that the use of the Pexa-Vec vaccine, or any other medical applications or medical clinical trials involving GMOs, would be prohibited under the plan.
“The council believes that the provisions of the proposed plan provide for medical use as a permitted activity,” she says.
Ms Pirrit says the council’s view is that medical applications would fall within the permitted activity category as they are not intended for release on land or within the coastal marine area, and they aren’t associated with veterinary vaccines.
“The council’s interpretation will form the basis of its approach to any potential future enforcement of the operative Auckland Unitary Plan,” she says.
“However, because our interpretation is that the use of the Pexa-Vec vaccine is a permitted activity, there would be no prospect of the council taking enforcement action in relation to a breach.”
