NewWorldCoiner,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. We'll try to address your concerns.
There seems to be fair amount of opposition to this from both the regulators and conservationists. How do you foresee this playing out?
It is true that we've received pushback from conservationists and regulators. You can view our thoughts on the conservation implications of our project here:
https://www.pembient.com/conservation/As far as the regulatory issues are concerned, they're currently being studied by an international body. We're hopeful that they will be resolved in favor of biofabricated wildlife products. You can read more about some of those deliberations here:
http://ens-newswire.com/2016/09/27/conservation-3-0-will-bioengineered-horn-save-rhinos/Please note in the above article that China believes "products produced from synthetics should be encouraged to meet the needs of human society to relieve the pressure on wildlife populations."
To the extent that regulatory actions prohibit us from using rhino-derived cells, we will use another animal cell line. The important point is that the only way to presently get a solid 1 kg mass of horn is from a rhino since all other animal horns are hollow. If we can create an "unnatural" solid 1 kg mass of horn from ox-derived cells, for example, the result will still be unique and something that artisans and designers will want to carve into large end products.
Did you end up getting the ear sample to sequence the genome? If not, how will this impact your progress?
The importance of that genome sequencing project to our company has declined over time. Currently, it is purely a charitable endeavor, and our partners in the project have obtained suitable rhino DNA from elsewhere.
What price do you think this product will sell for on the open market, assuming no regulatory ban is imposed?
In October of 2016, we received a quote of $26,900/kg for solid horn in Asia (wholesale).
We are offering solid horn (at-cost, wholesale) for delivery in November of 2022 at $2,610/kg.
To the extent that the end products made from either source of horn are indistinguishable, future wholesale prices for solid horn will likely lie somewhere within that channel.
