Monsanto Company and Empresas La Moderna, S.A., (ELM) jointly have signed a broad technology collaboration agreement with Mendel Biotechnology Inc. in the field of agricultural
functional genomics.The agreement gives Monsanto and ELM exclusive access to Mendel's technical capabilities in plant genetics and genomics for many crops, including corn and soybeans, and fruits and vegetables.

Mendel Biotechnology was founded by leaders in the plant genetics and genomics fields to identify the function of genes and patent the corresponding DNA sequences that will produce the intellectual property basis for the next generation of agricultural products created through biotechnology.

As part of the agreement, Monsanto and ELM will each acquire a substantial minority equity interest in Mendel and fund a research and development program over a five-year period.Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"This collaboration gives us the ability to better understand the function of specific genes in plants, thereby allowing us to more quickly introduce crops with improved agricultural traits," said Ganesh Kishore, assistant chief scientist and chief biotechnologist of Monsanto.Kishore said the
venture will greatly reduce research and development time for products that increase yield, or otherwise enhance the growing, processing or nutritional characteristics of food.

"This is our first venture in genomics, and it builds nicely on our original technology agreement with Monsanto as a preferred provider of agronomic and quality traits we're already using in our fruit and vegetable seed and produce businesses," said Alfonso Romo Garza, chairman and
chief executive officer of ELM.Through this partnership, ELM will have exclusive rights to Mendel's technology for the development of proprietary, transgenic fruits and vegetable products that create value for growers, processors and consumers.

Mendel's founding partners include several of the world's most renowned plant geneticists.Their scientific contributions include the isolation of genes responsible for disease resistance, the molecular genetics of nitrogen fixation in plants, the genetics of photosynthesis and plant oil biosynthesis, the development of synthetic plastic in plants, and the gene transfer technology for corn.

"Applying cutting-edge genomics capabilities to the agricultural biotechnology strengths these two leaders have developed is a natural next step in discovering and commercializing improved-trait crops," said Christopher R. Somerville, chairman of Mendel. Somerville also is the
director of the Department of Plant Biology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and professor of the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University.The president and chief executive officer of Mendel Biotechnology is Michael Fromm, a former research director of enabling technologies And plant genomics for Monsanto.

As a life sciences company, Monsanto is committed to finding solutions to the growing global needs for food and health by sharing common forms of science and technology among agriculture, nutrition and health.ELM is a leading agribusiness biotechnology company focused on developing and marketing premium branded vegetable seeds, as well as fresh and processed
fruits and vegetables.Mendel, a newly formed biotechnology company, specializes in applying functional genomics techniques to create valuable new traits in plants.

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