Icon Genetics AG is pleased to announce that Klaus Jasper, Ph.D., Ministerialrat, Bavarian Ministry of Economy, Traffic and Technology has announced financial support to Icon Genetics from Bavarian Ministry of Economy, Traffic and Technology. Mr. Jasper was present at the opening of Icon Genetics' second lab facility in Germany at Freising-Weihenstephan, where it was announced that 2.5 Mio. DM will be provided to Icon Genetics over a time period of three years, starting in 2001.

Political, business and scientific leaders of Bavaria attended the opening on September 11th, 2000. Talks were given by Klaus Jasper, Ph.D., Bavarian Ministry of Economy, Traffic and Technology; Manfred Pointner (Landrat, District of Freising); Georg Appel (Mayor, City of Freising); Prof. Gerhard Wenzel, Ph.D. (Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Technical University Munich, Freising-Weihenstephan); Klaus Schussmann, Ph.D. (Department of Labour and Economy, City of Munich); and Prof. Hans-Ulrich Koop, Ph.D. (Research Director, Icon Genetics).

Icon Genetics AG has made significant progress since its startup in August of 1999. During that time three lab sites have become operational in Halle (Saale), Freising-Weihenstephan, and Princeton, USA. The company now employs almost 40 people worldwide and occupies over 1500 sq. m of space including over 400 sq. m of greenhouses.

Over 40 FTE and additional lab space are under exclusive contracts with the International Institute of Cell Biology (IICB) Kiev, Ukraine and Moscow University, Russia. Extensive collaborations with academic labs worldwide and strong relationships with academia in FSU and East European countries have also been established.

Icon's early products and services include expression of genomic libraries of bacterial genes in plants. These are collections of plants containing potentially useful genes from well-studied microorganisms. Gene discovery alliances are also possible using high throughput nuclear transformation with Icon's capacity to introduce all the expressed genes of an organism (over 25 thousand) into a model plant species within a year.

A method for inserting genes that are unable to escape into the environment once introduced into a plant is also offered through delivery of DNA into plant cell chloroplasts, which are not pollen transmitted. Icon Genetics is looking for partners for mutually beneficial joint exploration.

In its short existence Icon has filed patents in the field of rapid line conversion, development of a unique polycistronic expression system, novel plastid transformation, and production and utilization of plant artificial chromosomes.

Icon Genetics is an integrated platform technology provider developing proprietary technologies with application to a broad range of agricultural and pharmaceutical biotechnology products. It is developing enabling tools and platform technologies for rapid introduction of genes into commercial varieties. Icon’s technology will displace current imperfect first-generation products by providing integrated suites of technologies (Transgene Operating Systems*) that will bring the speed and efficiency of crop engineering up to that of gene discovery.