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Rehovot, Israel
May 21, 2009
FuturaGene, which
develops environmentally friendly solutions that enhance crop
yields and improve the processability of plants for biofuels,
biopower, forestry and agriculture announces that
Targeted Growth, Inc.
(TGI) is to initiate the first field trials with corn, modified
with technology from CBD Tech. The technology is aimed at
enhancing plant processability and digestibility as well as
other agronomic properties. The trials are aimed at screening
for altered lines to take forward in the development pathway.
CBD Tech has also amended its licensing agreement of 19 March
2008 (the “Agreement”) with TGI for the enhancement of corn and
soybean. As TGI has decided not to initiate work on soybean, the
amended Agreement will no longer include this crop. As detailed
above, TGI continues to progress with corn and all terms,
definitions, provisions and conditions of the Agreement remain
in full force and effect with respect to this latter crop.
About FuturaGene PLC
FGN is a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on
research, development, and commercialization of technologies
that play key roles in substantially improving agronomic traits
of value in plants. In particular the Company is focused on the
development and commercialization of genetically modified plants
for improving and
protecting yields, and enhancing processability and
environmental sustainability in the forestry, biofuels, biopower
and agricultural sectors. In addition to its in-house discovery
program, FuturaGene licenses intellectual property from leading
universities in its strategic fields of interest and is
exploiting the synergies of these technologies with the cell
wall modification platform of its wholly owned subsidiary, CBD
Technologies, Inc. (CBD Tech) in forestry, biofuel, biopower,
food and feed crops.
CBD Tech has pioneered a modality for modifying plant cell
walls, resulting in enhanced growth and biomass, increased
cellulose, improved fiber properties, improved digestibility and
processability, and increased yield properties and has secured
broad intellectual property covering plants with modified cell
walls showing such altered properties. More information is
available at
www.futuragene.com.
About Targeted Growth Inc.
TGI uses agricultural bioscience to enable the long term success
of renewable fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. This includes
technology that improves the traits of crops themselves (yield
increases, drought resistance, fertilizer requirements, etc.)
and the ultimate performance of those crops once converted into
biofuels (efficiency of refining, fuel performance
characteristics). In addition, the company also develops, grows
and markets biofuel specific crops (such as camelina) that are
optimised and continually improved for use specifically as a
feedstock for biofuels. The company has strategic partnerships
with leading researchers and
agribusinesses around the world. Targeted Growth is based in
Seattle, Washington with labs in Seattle, Saskatchewan, Ottawa
and New Brunswick. More information is available at
www.targetedgrowth.com.
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Targeted Growth, Inc. |
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