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Rehovoth, Israel and Seattle,
Washington, USA
April 2, 2008
FuturaGene, which
develops environmentally friendly solutions that enhance crop
yields and improve the processability of plants for biofuels,
forestry and agriculture is pleased to announce that its wholly
owned subsidiary, CBD Technologies Ltd. (“CBD Tech”), has
entered into a licensing agreement (the “Agreement”) with
Targeted Growth, Inc.
(“TGI”) for the enhancement of corn and soybean, two major crops
in the food, feed and
biofuels sectors. The Agreement focuses on the implementation of
CBD Tech gene technologies in the field of cell wall
modification and sugar composition to increase yield and improve
digestibility and processability of these crops. This Agreement
will combine CBD Tech’s knowledge of plant cell wall
modification and the expertise of TGI in the modification,
testing, development and commercialisation of the crops included
in the agreement.
Under the terms of the Agreement, CBD Tech will supply
exclusive, worldwide technology to TGI that will develop and
test, deregulate and commercialise elite varieties of corn and
soybean. TGI will bear the costs of the programs and will pay
undisclosed License and Milestone fees to CBD Tech, in addition
to royalties on commercialised plant varieties. The genes and
technologies included in the license under the Agreement have
already been evaluated in a selection of plants, ranging from
herbaceous crops to commercial tree species and have been shown
to increase yield and improve digestibility.
“We are thrilled to be working with TGI. This commitment by TGI
further demonstrates the quality of FGN’s biotech trait
pipeline,” said Stanley Hirsch, Group Chief Executive Officer of
FGN. “This licensing agreement builds on the strong base we have
established in the biomass sectors of forestry and biofuels and
places our modification technologies in crops which play an
important role in the developing biodiesel sector. By enhancing
the yield and processability of such crops, we believe that
together with TGI, we will make a significant contribution to
balancing the equation between food security and liquid fuel
requirements.”
Innovative Solutions For Global Agricultural Needs TM
“We’re focused on using bioscience to address the growing demand
of a world population that increasingly is consuming row crops
for both food and fuel,” said Tom Todaro, TGI Chief Executive
Officer. “Our partnership with FGN further enables us to develop
crops that produce greater yields, require lower input costs and
have a smaller
environmental footprint for growing, harvesting and converting
into renewable fuels.”
FGN is a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused
on research, development, and commercialisation of technologies
that play key roles in substantially improving agronomic traits
of value in plants. In particular the Company is focused on the
development and commercialisation of genetically modified plants
for improving yields, processability and environmental
sustainability in the forestry, biofuels and agricultural
sectors. FuturaGene licenses intellectual property from leading
universities in its strategic fields of interest and is
exploiting the synergies of these technologies with the cell
wall modification platform of its wholly owned subsidiary, CBD
Technologies, Inc. (CBD Tech) in forestry, food and biofuel
crops.
CBD Tech has pioneered a modality for altered cell walls,
resulting in enhanced growth and biomass, increased cellulose,
improved fiber properties, improved digestibility and
processability, and increased yield properties and has secured
broad intellectual property covering plants with modified cell
walls showing such altered properties. More information is
available at
www.futuragene.com.
Targeted Growth Inc. (TGI) uses agricultural bioscience to
enable the long term success of renewable fuels such
as biodiesel and ethanol. This includes technology that improves
the traits of crops themselves (yield increases, drought
resistance, fertilizer requirements, etc.) and the ultimate
performance of those crops once converted into biofuels
(efficiency of refining, fuel performance characteristics). In
addition, the company also develops, grows and markets biofuel
specific crops (such as camelina) that are optimized and
continually improved for use specifically as a feedstock for
biofuels. The company has strategic partnerships with leading
researchers and agribusinesses around the world. Targeted Growth
is based in Seattle, Washington with labs in Seattle,
Saskatchewan, Ottawa and New Brunswick. More information is
available at
www.targetedgrowth.com.
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