| Mycogen Saskatoon
research facility to be global focus for DowElanco |
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
January 15, 1997
DowElanco established another key building block in its diversification strategy with
today's announcement of the relocation of Mycogen
Corporation's Brassica research group to Innovation Place Research Park.
DowElanco Canada is now responsible for the commercialization of the Mycogen brassica
program in Canada. This initiative will be further supported by discovery research and
molecular/cell biology research located in Indianapolis, Indiana and San Diego,
California.
"Mycogen's proprietary technologies, combined with the capabilities of Dow Elanco's
Saskatoon marketing and research group, will form the global focal point for our Brassica
technology development efforts," says John Oliver, President of DowElanco Canada.
DowElanco recently acquired 52 per cent of the San-Diego based biotechnology company in
1996 as part of its long-term strategy to diversify beyond crop protection products and
into plant genetics. Key elements of this strategy in Western Canada have been
collaborative research programs with the NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute, a strategic
alliance with the University of Calgary that resulted in the creation of SemBioSys
Genetics, and founding shareholder investment and marketing support for Philom Bios of
Saskatoon.
Oliver explains Saskatoon was the preferred choice for the Mycogen relocation. In the
centre of Canadašs canola country, the city is a focus for research into the oilseed
crop, and is in close proximity to other western Canadian universities and government
bodies engaged in similar
research.
"Some of the newest developments in Brassica research are coming out of
Saskatoon," Oliver says. "We intend to be at the forefront of these
developments, and to do that, we need to be here."
The Mycogen relocation was secured by an agreement in principle with Ag-West Biotech Inc. which will see Ag-West invest
$375,000 over two years. Saskatoon's International Centre for Agricultural Science and
Technology (ICAST) will partner with Ag-West Biotech to provide
$125,000 in additional funding drawn from federal Department of Western Economic
Diversification (WD).
The Mycogen presence will initially include a plant breeding group with three Ph.D.-level
positions and two support technicians to establish a microspore culture laboratory and
related facilities.
"The support we received from Ag-West Biotech was pivotal in securing the Mycogen
relocation for Saskatoon," Oliver says. N1630 |
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