Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina
June 26, 2009
Syngenta Biotechnology,
Inc. announced today that it has entered into a
collaboration agreement with
Evogene, Ltd., focusing on identifying plant genes related
to soybean nematode resistance. Under the agreement, Syngenta
will receive exclusive licensing rights to candidate genes
discovered by Evogene for use in soybean.
Soybean nematode is a soil parasite which attacks the roots of
developing plants, and is one of the most devastating and yield
limiting pests of soybean. Soybean growers may lose more than 20
percent of their yield to this pest, while defenses against it
are limited. It is estimated that soybean nematode causes losses
in the United States alone exceeding one billion dollars
annually.
"Syngenta is a leader in advanced breeding to bring our grower
customers the best choices to protect yield against soybean
pests," stated Roger Kemble, Head Syngenta Crop Genetics
Research. "This collaboration complements our in-house trait
discovery program, creating new sources of genes for biotech
traits to strengthen our current offering."
Under this agreement, Evogene will provide Syngenta with
candidate genes discovered by Evogene's proprietary
computational gene discovery technology, the 'ATHLETE'. Syngenta
will evaluate candidate genes in its soybean research and
development program. Syngenta may commercialize improved soybean
seeds developed through this collaboration.
"We are very pleased by this collaboration with Syngenta and we
look forward to working with the Syngenta team on this key trait
for soybean," stated Ofer Haviv, Evogene's President and CEO.
"Plant pest protection traits, such as nematode resistance, have
a strong impact on farm productivity hence Evogene intends to
expand use of its predictive technologies for gene discovery in
this field," Mr. Haviv concluded.
Specific details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more
than 24,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our
purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class
science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to
increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve
health and quality of life.
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