Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
May 29, 2010
Athenix Corp., a leading biotechnology company developing high-value bio-industrial products for the Agricultural and Chemical businesses using genetic traits from microbes, announced a strategic collaboration with Mertec LLC, a leading breeder and supplier of soybean seed.
The two companies will bring newly developed traits from Athenix to the market in soybean varieties developed by Mertec. The collaboration includes product development and registration. Mertec will market the co-developed soybean varieties using their strong industry channels.
Under a separate Agreement, Athenix has acquired a commercial license for certain important enabling technologies from Stine Biotechnology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Midwest Oilseeds, Inc. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased to work with Mertec, an industry-leading seed company, and to have access to their outstanding soybean varieties," said Mike Koziel, President and CEO of Athenix. "The combination of Mertec's excellent germplasm with our innovative, breakthrough traits will provide growers with soybean varieties having superior yield and quality." He added that "The technology in-licensed from Midwest Oilseeds is an important addition to our enabling technologies portfolio, extending our capabilities for trait delivery into many important crop plants."
Joseph Merschman, Mertec's President, said: "We are excited about partnering with Athenix. This collaboration strengthens our ability to deliver innovative products to our dealers and farmer customers."
Midwest Oilseed's Marketing Manager, David Thompson, said: "We are pleased to see our technology being used in conjunction with Athenix' strong gene discovery capabilities. This combination provides an excellent vehicle for delivering traits and creating value in several important crops."
Athenix is a leading biotechnology company developing innovative, high-value, bio-industrial products for the Agricultural and Chemical businesses using genetic traits from microbes. These traits are used to develop enhanced plants, microbes, enzymes, and processes capable of providing renewable resources for a variety of industry sectors. Athenix is focused on two major market opportunities: 1) the discovery of genes and proteins for novel input traits (such as insect resistance, nematode resistance and herbicide tolerance), and their use to develop transgenic plants for the Agricultural Chemical and Seed Industries; and 2) the discovery of genes and proteins for improved bioconversion in the Chemical, Alternative Energy and Animal Feed Industries. For more information about Athenix, visit www.athenixcorp.com
Mertec LLC, based in West Point, Iowa, is a leading breeder and developer of soybean germplasm for the seed trade. Mertec has an extensive line-up of soybean germplasm for the maturities in the United States. Mertec has entered into strategic relationships with biotech and life science companies to deliver the latest traits and technologies to farmer growers in Mertec's high yielding soybean germplasm.
Stine Biotechnology is a wholly owned subsidiary of Midwest Oilseeds, Inc., based in Adel, Iowa. Stine Biotechnology is an industry leader in developing proprietary transformation and enabling technologies for plants and microbes.
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