Aventis CropScience and Novartis Seeds have reached a settlement of three lawsuits under which terms the companies will work cooperatively to promote the use of Aventis' Liberty® herbicide on Novartis NK® brand insect resistant corn seed hybrids.

The agreement resolves lawsuits, filed by a subsidiary of Aventis, to enforce patents that cover the insect protection technology in NK® Bt corn hybrids, and a lawsuit, filed by Novartis Seeds, alleging breach of an agreement relating to that technology. The Novartis corn products that were the subject of the lawsuits also contain a gene that makes the corn tolerant to Liberty herbicide.

Under the agreement, Aventis and Novartis will work together closely to promote Novartis corn products conferring the YieldGard® insect resistance and LibertyLink® herbicide tolerance traits. In addition, the two companies will work cooperatively to optimize the use of Liberty herbicide on these varieties of corn.

"What this settlement means is that these solid-performing LibertyLink Novartis corn products will continue to be available to growers without the potential for disruption or ongoing dispute,'' said Walter Dannigkeit, Global Head of Aventis Seed and Crop Improvement. "Growers can continue to confidently spray these hybrids with Liberty herbicide and to enjoy the benefits of both excellent weed control and insect protection.''

"As the leading company in the development and marketing of corn products providing both insect
protection and tolerance to Liberty herbicide, we are pleased that Novartis Seeds and its distributors will continue to offer these products to our customers, to now promote the use of Liberty herbicide and to draw fully on the insect resistance and LibertyLink qualities of this seed,'' said Ed Shonsey, CEO of Novartis Seeds, Inc. "This is definitely a win-win for both companies,'' Shonsey added. "Especially for our customers. Farmers are extremely pleased with the performance of Bt corn for corn borer control. The LibertyLink feature expands their weed control options as well.''

As part of the agreement, the companies said that the LibertyLink logo will appear on all newly bagged or rebagged seed of Novartis corn products containing these herbicide and insect resistant traits as well as in promotional advertising. The companies will work cooperatively at field days, farmer meetings and elsewhere to promote the LibertyLink and insect resistance attributes this seed offers.

Aventis CropScience is a leading global crop protection and crop production company also involved in leading environmental and public health activities. Committed to developing sustainable agriculture worldwide, Aventis CropScience focuses on researching, developing and marketing innovative solutions that meet the needs of today's farming -- increased yields, improved crop and food quality -- while striving to respect the environment.

With 1999 pro-forma sales of more than $4 billion, Aventis CropScience devotes more than 10 percent of its sales to the research and development of new chemicals, biotechnology and plant varieties. It employees about 16,000 people in more than 120 countries worldwide. The business is part of Aventis, a global leader in Life Sciences.

Novartis is a world leader in healthcare with core businesses in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, generics, eye-care, and animal health. In 1999, the Group (including Agribusiness) achieved sales of USD 21.7 billion and invested more than USD 2.8 billion in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis employs about 82 400 people and operates in over 140 countries around the world. The Group recently announced plans to spin off its Crop Protection and Seeds sectors and to merge them with the agrochemicals business of AstraZeneca in the second half of 2000. 

Liberty® and LibertyLink® are registered trademarks of the Aventis Group.
NK® is a registered trademark of Novartis. YieldGard® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company.

Company news release
N2638