Regulatory milestone: Neocrop obtains “green light” for the first CRISPR-edited wheat in the Americas

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Regulatory milestone: Neocrop obtains “green light” for the first CRISPR-edited wheat in the Americas

The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) of Chile issued a positive response to the inquiry regarding the high-fiber wheat developed by Neocrop Technologies, allowing it to advance to field trials and commercial validation as would a conventional wheat. This is the first CRISPR-edited wheat to receive a favorable resolution from a regulatory framework in the Americas, marking an international milestone for agricultural biotechnology.

Valdiva, Chile – August 8, 2025.- Neocrop Technologies has consolidated its first plant precision breeding development using its Neotrait Engine® platform, which combines cutting-edge gene editing, proprietary gene discovery software, and speed-breeding. The companies partnered in this project are Campex Baer, the oldest private seed company in Chile, and Buck Semillas, one of the most relevant seed companies in Argentina. Both contributed elite lines that were genetically edited to increase their fiber content.

It is worth noting that this binational project was made possible thanks to initial support from public grants provided by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) and the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA) from the State of Chile, which enabled the launch of this pioneering technology line in the region.

Why a wheat with more fiber?

In Chile and Argentina, the average dietary fiber intake is less than half of the amount recommended by official health and nutrition guidelines (25 grams per day), while both countries rank among the world’s top five consumers of white bread and other products made with refined white flour. This context presents a significant nutritional and health challenge, but also a major opportunity.

The industry has tried to address this nutritional gap through flours enriched with starch from corn, banana or potato as a source of dietary fiber. However, these alternatives often negatively affect the baking and sensory quality of the product, as well as increasing costs. On the other hand, whole-grain flours have not gained wide acceptance among consumers, due to factors such as taste, texture, consumption habits, and higher prices.

“To address this problem with a pragmatic solution, Neocrop and the partner companies set out to develop commercial wheat lines with 5 to 10 times more fiber, which would allow for the production of white flours with greater nutritional benefits than wholemeal flours, helping to close the fiber intake gap in the Southern Cone through foods as common as bread and other derivatives of white wheat flour,” says Daniel Norero, Business Manager of Neocrop Technologies.

The global wheat fiber market reached about USD 1.4 billion in 2025 and is expected to surpass USD 2.5 billion by 2033, with an average annual growth rate of nearly 8%. Latin America will show remarkable growth, with a CAGR close to 8.8%, driven by the demand for functional nutritional ingredients in mass-market products.

Technical challenges of wheat and the solution from cutting-edge gene editing

Working with a crop like bread wheat — which provides approximately 20% of the daily calories and proteins consumed worldwide — poses a considerable technical challenge due to the complexity of its genome: it is five times larger than that of humans, and each gene has six copies, which makes conventional breeding based on random crossbreeding and selection difficult.

“Although wheat is a widely consumed food in the world, the adoption of new breeding technologies (NBTs) has been delayed in this crop because its genome is very complex. To get an idea of the wheat genome, if it were printed on letter-size sheets in Arial 12 font on both sides and stacked, it would reach a height equivalent to a tower like the Costanera Center [Chile’s tallest tower, standing 300 meters high],” says Dr. Francisca Castillo, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Neocrop Technologies.

Conventional breeding programs, using techniques such as multiple generations of crossing or mutation induction by chemical or radioactive agents, take 12 to 15 years.

“Today there is a biotechnological tool known as CRISPR, which we use, and it works like a ‘molecular scissor’ that makes precise and targeted adjustments within the plant’s own genome, delivering a final product without exogenous genes — in other words, a non-transgenic product,” adds Dr. Castillo.

“CRISPR has become the most widely used genome-editing system to quickly introduce traits of agronomic interest. Its simplicity, efficiency, and safety position it as the leading tool in this field, allowing new varieties of interest to be obtained in half — or even less — of the time required by conventional breeding programs,” says Dr. Claudia Payacán, Lead Genome Editing Scientist at Neocrop Technologies.

First CRISPR-edited wheat to obtain “green light” in the Americas

In 2023, Neocrop achieved the first results of gene editing in the laboratory and growth of the edited wheat lines under speed-breeding chambers. In 2024, the company filed a provisional patent to protect the genetic transformation strategy that allows for increased fiber content in commercial bread wheat lines, and this year will take the edited lines to field trials together with its two commercial partners.

In a resolution issued on July 25, 2025, the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) of Chile concluded that the high-fiber wheat lines developed by Neocrop Technologies, through CRISPR gene editing, are not within the scope of the national regulation for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as they do not present a new combination of genetic material. This decision means that these lines can advance to field cultivation and commercial validation stages as would any wheat obtained through conventional breeding techniques.

“This resolution represents an unprecedented regulatory milestone in the Americas, as it would be the first CRISPR-edited wheat to receive a favorable response from a regulatory framework in the continent,” says Daniel Norero. “Globally, it would be the second known case, after China approved in 2024 a CRISPR-edited wheat for disease resistance,” adds Norero.

As part of its internationalization strategy, Neocrop, together with its Argentine partner Buck Semillas, has already submitted the advanced high-fiber wheat lines for regulatory consultation to CONABIA, the regulatory body in Argentina. Neocrop’s executives plan to move forward with consultations before regulators in strategic markets such as Brazil and the United States, thus helping to position Chile as a leading country internationally in the development and adoption of gene-editing technologies applied to food crops.

“High-fiber wheat makes it possible to achieve a healthier product for human consumption. It is a product that allows us to expand our variety portfolio with cultivars of differentiated quality,” adds Diana Martino, Wheat Breeder and Chief Scientific Officer of Buck Semillas.

Currently, Neocrop is coordinating pilots with major food industry companies in Latin America for 2026, which will explore incorporating this innovation into mass-consumption products such as bread and cookies in future, thus opening new value-added opportunities in the growing market for functional ingredients and healthy foods, both regionally and internationally.

About Neocrop Technologies

Neocrop Technologies is a biotechnology company transforming the Latin American agri-food industry through precision gene editing. Its Neotrait Engine® platform accelerates, at record speed, the development of crops adapted to urgent agronomic and climate challenges, as well as enhanced nutritional value. In partnership with seed companies, food producers, and research institutions, we help deliver superior varieties in less time, addressing the demands of productivity, nutrition, and sustainability. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Valdivia, Chile, Neocrop is committed to building a more competitive, sustainable, and beneficial agri-food industry for producers, consumers, and the planet. For more information, visit www.neocroptech.com.

For press inquiries or investment interest in Neocrop Technologies, contact: info@neocroptech.com