A copy edited and improved, done in a single generation
In the quiet pampas town of San Antonio de Areco, a small Argentine company has quietly rewritten what it means to breed a living creature. Kheiron, founded in 2011, has used cloning and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to produce horses that now dominate elite polo worldwide — and pigs whose organs may one day bridge the gap between a dying patient and a donor. When U.S. Department of Agriculture officials traveled there to witness it firsthand, it was a quiet acknowledgment that the future of genetic science is not always found where the world expects it.
- The stakes are not abstract: Kheiron's genetically modified pigs carry humanized organs that could keep transplant patients alive while they wait for a human donor — a race against time measured in heartbeats.
- Championship polo has already been transformed, with cloned and gene-edited horses now standard on the world's most prestigious teams, compressing generations of selective breeding into a single animal.
- Senior USDA officials and U.S. livestock trade representatives flew to Buenos Aires province to see the operation — a signal that American agricultural policy is paying close attention to what Argentina has built.
- Argentina's regulatory framework, which allows gene-edited animals to avoid GMO classification if they could theoretically exist in nature, has quietly positioned the country as one of the world's most permissive yet rigorous biotech environments.
- A Gates Foundation commission for heat-resistant, high-yield dairy cattle for Africa demonstrated Kheiron's reach — even if that particular project stalled — and the company's ambitions continue to expand well beyond the polo field.
Daniel Sammartino received a call from the United States not long ago. Officials from the Department of Agriculture wanted to visit his company. They wanted to see what had been built in San Antonio de Areco, a town in Buenos Aires province that has become, quietly, one of the most consequential addresses in global biotechnology.
Sammartino cofounded Kheiron in 2011, naming it after the mythological centaur — wisest of his kind. The company developed its own cloning technology in-house and, in 2013, produced its first clone: a mare. Today, cloned and gene-edited horses dominate elite polo, competing in the Argentine Open and appearing in Olympic equestrian events. These are not simple copies. Using CRISPR-Cas9, Kheiron's scientists design animals with specific traits drawn from other horses — compressing what traditional breeding might achieve across generations into a single birth. Gabriel Vichera, the company's science director, explained to the American visitors that the process meets strict regulatory standards, ensuring the animals are not classified as genetically modified organisms.
But horses are only part of the story. Sammartino speaks with particular intensity about the company's work with pigs. By editing four genes, Kheiron has created animals whose organs resist rejection by the human immune system — a potential lifeline for transplant patients waiting for a donor organ. The approach, known as xenotransplantation, turns the pig into a bridge between crisis and survival.
The company's range has attracted serious attention. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation once commissioned Kheiron to develop dairy cattle clones for Africa — animals capable of high milk production under heat stress. The science was delivered. The project did not advance, for reasons that remain unclear, but the work confirmed the company's capacity to operate at scale on complex, global problems.
When the USDA delegation landed in Buenos Aires province, it marked something larger than a courtesy visit. A small South American country had become a destination for American officials trying to understand where genetic science is heading — and Argentina, with its rigorous regulatory framework and homegrown expertise, was already there waiting.
Daniel Sammartino got a call from the United States a few days ago. On the line were officials from the Department of Agriculture, along with business associations that advise American government delegators. They wanted to visit his company. They wanted to see what Kheiron had built.
Sammartino cofounded Kheiron in 2011, and it has become the world's leading firm in horse cloning. The animals his team creates now dominate the sport of polo—most of the horses on championship teams around the globe are clones. Last week, Martin Sieber, president and CEO of U.S. Livestock Genetics Export, and Edward Newburn, senior advisor at the USDA's office of trade and foreign agricultural affairs, traveled to San Antonio de Areco, a town in Buenos Aires province, to see the operation firsthand. They came to witness something that had never existed before: the first horses in the world born through what Kheiron calls "precision genetic advancement."
The term describes a form of gene editing that accelerates traditional breeding. Instead of waiting generations to combine desired traits, the company uses CRISPR-Cas9 technology to design horses with specific attributes drawn from other animals. These are not copies in the traditional sense. They are edited, improved versions of what conventional breeding might eventually produce—but compressed into a single generation. The scientific rigor is deliberate. Gabriel Vichera, Kheiron's director of science, explained to the American visitors that the work meets strict regulatory requirements, ensuring the animals would not be classified as genetically modified organisms and could theoretically exist in nature. Argentina has become a world leader in establishing the rules for this kind of work.
Kheiron's breakthrough came in 2013, when the company's first clone was born—a mare. The firm developed the cloning technology itself, in-house, with its own scientists. The name Kheiron honors the mythological centaur, the wisest and greatest of his kind. Today, cloned horses have become standard equipment in elite polo. They compete in the Argentine Open, the sport's most prestigious championship. They appear in Olympic equestrian events like show jumping. They excel in endurance racing and quarter-mile competitions.
But the company's ambitions extend far beyond horses. Sammartino speaks with particular enthusiasm about the work with pigs. Kheiron has genetically modified pigs by editing four genes, creating animals whose organs could serve as a bridge for human transplant patients waiting for donor organs. The modification prevents the human immune system from rejecting the pig organs, allowing them to function temporarily until a human organ becomes available. This is xenotransplantation—using animal organs to save human lives in the critical gap between need and availability.
The company's track record caught the attention of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which commissioned Kheiron to develop dairy cattle clones for Africa. The goal was to create animals with two traits: high milk production and resistance to heat stress. Kheiron delivered the science. The project, however, did not move forward. The reasons remain unclear from the available record, but the work demonstrated the company's capacity to solve complex problems at scale.
One of Kheiron's partners is polo player Martín Barrantes, whose mother-in-law is Sara Ferguson, the former Duchess of York. The connection underscores how the company operates at the intersection of Argentine sport, international business, and cutting-edge science. The American delegation's visit signals that Kheiron's work has caught the attention of the highest levels of U.S. agricultural policy. What happens next—whether this leads to collaboration, investment, or simply mutual recognition of Argentina's emerging biotech leadership—remains to be seen. But the visit itself is a marker: a small country in South America has become a destination for American officials seeking to understand the future of genetic science.
Citações Notáveis
It's not just a copy of an animal but a copy that's been edited and improved. What you could obtain through conventional breeding, we do in one generation.— Daniel Sammartino, Kheiron cofounder
The scientific development was carried out with extreme rigor, meeting strict requirements so it would not be considered a genetically modified organism and could theoretically be found freely in nature.— Gabriel Vichera, Kheiron's director of science, to the U.S. delegation
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did the Americans come specifically to see horses? Aren't there cloning labs everywhere?
Because Kheiron didn't just clone horses—they built the technology themselves. They own it. And they've made it work at scale, in a sport where the results are visible and measurable. Every polo championship team is using their animals. That's not theoretical. That's proof.
The pigs seem like the bigger story. Organs for transplant patients. How close are they to actually using these animals?
They've done the genetic work. They've edited the genes to prevent rejection. But there's a gap between what's scientifically possible and what regulators will allow. The Americans came to understand how Argentina is handling that gap—what rules they've written, how they're thinking about what counts as natural versus modified.
The Gates Foundation project failed. What happened there?
The source doesn't say. But they asked Kheiron to solve a real problem—heat-stressed cattle in Africa, low milk production. Kheiron solved it. Something else stopped the project. Maybe funding, maybe politics, maybe the foundation's priorities shifted. The point is: they trusted Kheiron enough to ask.
Is this about Argentina becoming a biotech hub?
It's about Argentina already being one. They've got the scientists, the regulatory framework, the track record. The Americans didn't come to scout. They came to learn what's already happening.
What's the real risk here?
The same as any powerful technology. You can edit genes to save lives. You can also edit them for other reasons. The regulatory framework matters enormously. Argentina seems to be thinking carefully about it. That's what impressed the Americans.