"Saying innovation is being stifled and research costs are being unnecessarily increased, S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. wants the Environmental Protection Agency to ease its rules on protecting human subjects in pesticide research.

The Racine firm's bid to relax the 5-year-old regulations comes as the EPA is proposing to stiffen them.

But with the agency opening its rule book as part of a lawsuit settlement, S.C. Johnson is making a case for dialing down requirements for an extra layer of review of pesticide studies that use human subjects.

The company has a lot at stake: 'Pesticides' in this sense includes insect repellents and insecticides, and S.C. Johnson, maker of Off and Raid, is by far the U.S. market leader in the category. No one else comes close."

Rick Romell reports for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel May 21, 2011. [2]