A jury in U.S. District Court here has returned a unanimous verdict finding that researchers at Aventis CropScience should be added as inventors of two patents held by DeKalb Genetics Corp. for glyphosate tolerance in all current Roundup Ready® corn.

One of the patents (U.S. 5,554,798) covers glyphosate-resistant corn, while the second patent (U.S. 6,047,497) protects the so-called GA21 "transformation event'' which is currently the only
commercialized Roundup Ready corn.

"We are extremely pleased with this decision and are proud of our inventors as well as the trial team which achieved this result,'' said Alain Godard, chief executive officer of Aventis CropScience. "We fully expect that the District Court will confirm the verdict and that it will be sustained on appeal.''

The jury's decision is the third jury verdict in favor of Aventis CropScience (formerly Rhone-Poulenc Agro) in its dispute with DeKalb, a subsidiary of Pharmacia Corp. (formerly Monsanto Co.), over Roundup Ready corn. The first verdict in April 1999 rescinded a license from Aventis to DeKalb for fraudulent inducement and included a judgment of $65 million. The second jury verdict found that DeKalb infringed an Aventis patent (RE.36,449). The third jury verdict finds that Aventis has co-ownership of two DeKalb patents.

As to future consequences of the Court's judgments, Godard said, "we are very excited by the
possibilities of developing glyphosate-tolerant corn and are actively considering our options.''

The five Aventis scientists added as inventors are Drs. Rick Derose, Georges Freyssinet, Michel
Lebrun, Bernard Leroux and Alain Sailland.

Aventis was represented by George Pazuniak and Francis DiGiovanni of Connolly Bove Lodge &
Hutz of Wilmington, Delaware, and Timothy Barber of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice of
Winston-Salem and Charlotte, N.C.

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 (NYSE: AVE - news), a global leader in Life Sciences.

Roundup Ready® corn is a trademark of Pharmacia Corp. 

Company news release
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