San Diego, California
December 3, 1999
Akkadix
Corporation, an international agricultural discovery company, today announced the
appointment of Chris Lamb, Ph.D. as the Co-Chair of the Company’s Scientific Advisory
Board. Dr. Lamb will share his duties as co-chairperson alongside Dr. Roger Beachy,
Director of the Danforth Plant Science Center, to provide insight and direction to Akkadix
research programs.
Dr. Chris Lamb is the Director of the John
Innes Centre and John Innes Professor of Biology at the University of East Anglia. His
previous positions include Regius Professor of Plant Science, Institute of Cell and
Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh and Professor and Director of the Plant Biology
Laboratory at The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California.
With the addition of Dr. Lamb, Akkadix
Scientific Advisory Board members are:
- Roger Beachy, Ph.D, Co-Chair, Director of the Donald Danforth
Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri, and Professor in the Department of Biology at
Washington University in St. Louis.
- Chris Lamb, Ph. D., Co-Chair, Director of the John Innes
Center, Norwich, UK, and John Innes Professor of Biology at the University of East Anglia
- Carlos Barbas, III, Ph.D., an Associate Member of The Scripps
Research Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Associate Professor, Janet &
W. Keith Kellogg II Chair in Molecular Biology at The Skaggs Institute for Chemical
Biology.
- Rick Dixon, Ph.D, Director of the Plant Biology Division of
the Samuel Roberts Nobel Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma.
- Richard Michelmore, Ph.D., Professor of Genetics in the
Department of Vegetable Crops at the University of California at Davis.
- Ethan Signer, Ph.D., Professor of Biology Emeritus at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Executive Director of
Cure HD Initiative, and a member of Scientific Advisory Board of the Hereditary Disease
Foundation.
In connection with Chris Lamb’s
appointment, Gary Richardson, President of Akkadix, noted "Dr. Lamb is one of the
premier scientists in agricultural biotechnology today, and we are pleased to have him
join us in this capacity. With the participation of Drs. Lamb, Beachy and four other
world-renowned scientists, we believe that Akkadix’s Scientific Advisory Board is
second to none in the industry."
"Dr. Lamb’s expertise in
understanding the mechanisms behind plant disease resistance and other plant functions is
invaluable to the future growth of our company," said Leo Kim, Chief Technical
Officer of Akkadix. "His direction and vision are welcomed additions to our advisory
group."
Dr. Lamb received his Ph.D. from Cambridge
University, England, and served on the faculty of Oxford University. He was the Browne
Research Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford, a McKnight Foundation Research Scholar,
and received an award from the American Chemical Society. Dr. Lamb is editor of The Plant
Journal and serves on the editorial boards of several other plant biology journals. He was
elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1990.
Akkadix Corporation was formed by the merger
of Xyris Corporation with Global Agro, Inc. in September of 1999. The merger of the two
companies integrated the genomics, structural biology, combinatorial chemistry, and high
throughput screening of Xyris with the proprietary plant genes and germplasm of Global
Agro. Xyris and Global Agro contributed to Akkadix their research and licensing agreements
with Axys Pharmaceuticals, The Salk Institute and the University of Edinburgh, in addition
to collaborations with AgriBioTech, Inc. and Forage Genetics, Inc., a subsidiary of Land
O’ Lakes Inc. of Wisconsin. This combination provides Akkadix with a technology
platform and capabilities that are unique to the industry. Akkadix is currently working on
the application of the five proprietary gene technologies licensed from The Salk Institute
and plans to develop applications in soybean, corn, wheat, rice, cotton and other crops.
Recently, Akkadix announced the acquisition
of the assets of Maize Genetic Resources, Inc., a corn foundation seed company through its
wholly-owned subsidiary Akkadix Genetics, Inc. The acquired assets (included breeding
materials, inbred lines and MGR’s proprietary technology for inbred development),
together with Akkadix’s own germplasm, will provide elite and unencumbered genetics
to the seed industry. The ownership and access to germplasm, coupled with the availability
of in-hand gene technologies, will enable Akkadix to generate products and revenues in a
shorter time frame than one would expect form a newly founded agricultural biotechnology
company.
Equity funding for Akkadix Corporation has
come from venture capital investments by Bay City Capital Fund I, L.P, North American
Nutrition and Agribusiness Fund, L.P. (which is also managed by Bay City Capital, LLC.)
and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Counsel, and corporate investments by AgriBioTech,
Inc and Forage Genetics, Inc.
Akkadix Corporation is a global agricultural
biotechnology company that uses gene discovery, functional genomics, bioinformatics,
structural biology, combinatorial chemistry and other technologies for the discovery of
novel plant traits which improve health and safety, increase production, lower costs, help
preserve the environment and create new opportunities for crop production.
Company news release
N2284 |
