The OECD Conference on RNAi based pesticides provided an overview on the current status and future possibilities for the regulation of externally applied dsRNA-based products that are proposed for use as pesticides. The event facilitated exchanges between policy makers, academia, industry on their implications in health, environment, and regulation.
The focus on regulatory needs and aspects of risk assessment also aimed at informing the use of public and government funds in support of research on the use of externally applied dsRNA in agricultural agencies and institutes.
Finally, hearing from regulatory authorities that have reviewed dsRNA-based crop traits helped informing regulatory policies at the national and international level and facilitate the development of a harmonised approach for regulating externally applied dsRNA-based plant protection products.
The Conference not only provided an overview but also inputs and recommendations for guidance(s) to be developed by the Working Group on Pesticides (WGP) and especially by its Expert Group working on RNAi-based pesticides. The first document developed by the group is the Working Document on Considerations for the Environmental Risk Assessment of the Application of Sprayed or Externally Applied ds-RNA-Based Pesticides (No. 104) that was released in September 2020. This document provides a broad set of recommendations relating to risk assessment considerations for exogenously-applied dsRNA-based products, with a focus on issues relating to data requirements for determining the environmental fate of sprayable RNA molecules and for examining the potential risks to non-target organisms. This document is intended to provide an overview of available scientific information related to RNA interference (RNAi), and considerations on regulating this technology for pest control.
The second Working Document on Considerations for the Human Health Risk Assessment of Externally Applied ds-RNA-Based Pesticides (No. 110), released in June 2023, includes the lessons learned from the application of this technology in the field of pharmaceuticals and considers a range of issues directly relevant to human exposure arising from the application of externally-applied dsRNA-based pesticides, and discusses possible effects of dsRNA exposure in mammals.
