Monsanto and Evogene Collaborate on Yield and Stress Research
28 Agosto 2008 - 7:00AM
Marketwired
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) and Evogene Ltd. (TASE: EVGN) have
entered into a five-year research and development collaboration
focused on identifying key plant genes related to yield,
environmental stress and fertilizer utilization. The agreement is
intended to enhance research efforts to discover and deliver novel,
yield-enhancing technologies at a time of increasing demand for
grain globally.
"We have been very impressed with Evogene's discovery
capabilities, particularly their computer-based, predictive biology
efforts," said Robb Fraley, Monsanto's Chief Technology Officer.
"We look forward to building upon our strong relationship with
Evogene to deliver products to farmers' fields that help meet the
needs for increased food, fiber and energy while protecting the
environment."
"In view of Monsanto's leading position in the seed business and
its history of delivering innovative products to farmers, we look
forward to this expansion of our gene discovery collaboration,"
said Mr. Ofer Haviv, Evogene's President and CEO. "The
collaboration reflects the companies' shared vision of delivering
value to farmers through the development of yield-enhanced
crops."
Under the terms of this collaboration:
-- Evogene will provide Monsanto with candidate genes discovered by
Evogene's computational platform that are predicted to improve yield,
fertilizer utilization and a plant's reaction to environmental stress. The
genes will be validated in model plants.
-- The collaboration will provide Monsanto access to new genes
strengthening its entire gene discovery program. Monsanto will receive
exclusive licensing rights to such genes in a number of crops, including
corn, soybean, canola, and cotton.
-- Monsanto will evaluate the licensed genes in its research and
development pipeline. Products that emerge from the joint development will
be commercialized by Monsanto through its branded and licensed businesses.
-- Evogene expects to receive approximately $35 million over the research
term of the collaboration in the form of an upfront payment and annual
research payments, in consideration for the performance of the research.
-- Evogene is also entitled to development milestone and royalty payments
based on sales of any resulting products.
Monsanto believes this new collaboration will help support its
commitment to double yields in its core crops by 2030 and
strengthen its ongoing work with Evogene. In September of 2007, the
two companies announced a collaboration to improve nitrogen use
efficiency in corn, soybeans, canola and cotton.
In a separate agreement, Monsanto has purchased an $18 million
(USD) equity stake in Evogene and has agreed to purchase an
additional $12 million in the future, subject to certain Evogene
diligence requirements.
Martin Gerstel, Chairman of Evogene, stated, "Having the world's
leading agriculture company as a major collaborator moving forward
is clearly a transforming event in the history of our company, and
we welcome Monsanto as a shareholder. Furthermore, with this new
financial commitment, we are now convinced that Evogene has the
resources required to aggressively pursue our two primary areas of
interest -- improved plants for agriculture and novel feedstocks
for biofuels."
About Evogene
Evogene is a leading developer of improved plants for the
ag-biotech and biofuel industries. The company's proprietary
product development platform combines state of the art
computational gene discovery technologies, plant and field
validation capabilities and unique selection systems. The
platform's computational biology component -- the ATHLETE -- is
based on Compugen's (NASDAQ: CGEN) in-silico predictive discovery
capabilities. Evogene's current programs focus on yield under
normal and various environmental stress conditions (such as
drought), fertilizer utilization and the improvement of plants
specifically for biofuel uses. Evogene has collaboration and
licensing agreements with world leading companies in the ag-biotech
and alternative energy industries. Evogene's headquarters are in
Rehovot, Israel, and its stock is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange (TASE: EVGN). For additional information, please visit
Evogene's website at www.evogene.com.
About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve
farm productivity and food quality. For more information, please
visit the company's web site at http://www.monsanto.com.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information:
Certain statements contained in this release are
"forward-looking statements," such as statements concerning the
companies' anticipated financial results, anticipated success of
product development, current and future product performance,
regulatory approvals, business and financial plans and other
non-historical facts. These statements are based on current
expectations and currently available information. However, since
these statements are based on factors that involve risks and
uncertainties, the companies' actual performance and results may
differ materially from those described or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute
to such differences include, among others: continued competition in
seeds, traits and agricultural chemicals; the companies exposure to
various contingencies, including those related to intellectual
property protection, regulatory compliance and the speed with which
approvals are received, and public acceptance of biotechnology
products; the success of the companies' research and development
activities; developments related to foreign currencies and
economies; fluctuations in commodity prices; the effect of weather
conditions, natural disasters, accidents and other events beyond
either company's reasonable control on the agriculture business or
the companies' facilities; and other risks and factors detailed in
Monsanto company's most recent reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K and
in Evogene's most recent Annual report. Undue reliance should not
be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are current
only as of the date of this release. The companies disclaim any
current intention or obligation to update any forward-looking
statements or any of the factors that may affect actual
results.
Monsanto Contact Danielle Jany +1-314-694-2478 Email Contact
Evogene Contact Liat Cinamon +972-8-931-1933 Email Contact
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