New Brunswick, New Jersey
November 9, 2006
Senesco
Technologies, Inc.
("Senesco" or the "Company")
(AMEX:SNT) announced today that
Bayer CropScience
has exclusively licensed the rights to Senesco's proprietary
gene technology for use in Brassica oilseeds. The agreement
anticipates that the licensed technology will enable Bayer
CropScience to significantly enhance Canola yields in its
InVigor(R) and future hybrid's business on a global basis. In
return, Senesco will receive success-bound development milestone
and commercialization payments. Specific financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
"Senesco is proud to have Bayer CropScience as a partner for
this important crop. We look forward to working with Bayer
CropScience due to their marketing strength and commitment to
science," said Bruce Galton, President of Senesco.
Dr. Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, Head of Research at
BioScience, a business operations unit of Bayer CropScience,
welcomes the new business relationship with Senesco: "Bayer
CropScience has grown to be a leading company in the canola seed
market with InVigor(R), our high quality, high yield Canola
hybrid varieties. Senesco has shown that the seed yield of
Canola can be significantly increased by modulating the
expression of its proprietary genes. We anticipate that the
innovative Senesco technology will contribute to further
strengthen our leadership position in the global hybrid Canola
markets."
Senesco Technologies, Inc. is a U.S. biotechnology company.
Senesco has initiated preclinical research to trigger or delay
cell death in mammals (apoptosis) to determine if the technology
is applicable in human medicine. Accelerating apoptosis may have
applications to development of cancer treatments. Delaying
apoptosis may have applications to certain diseases such as
glaucoma, ischemia and arthritis, among others. Senesco takes
its name from the scientific term for the aging of plant cells:
senescence. The Company has developed technology that regulates
the onset of cell death. Delaying cell breakdown in plants
extends freshness after harvesting, while increasing crop
yields, plant size and resistance to environmental stress for
flowers, fruits and vegetables. In addition to its human health
research programs, the Company believes that its technology can
be used to develop superior strains of crops without any
modification other than delaying natural plant senescence.
Senesco has partnered with leading-edge companies engaged in
agricultural biotechnology and earns research and development
fees for applying its gene-regulating platform technology to
enhance its partners' products.
Senesco is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of
about EUR 6 billion, is one of the world's leading innovative
crop science companies in the areas of crop protection,
non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology.
The company offers an outstanding range of products and
extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and
for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a
global workforce of about 19,000 and is represented in more than
120 countries. |