Icoria to Use its High Throughput Screening Process to Seek Products
That Improve Crop Traits, Yields and Ability to Withstand Weather Changes
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Integrated
systems biology company Icoria, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICOR), announced today that it
has signed an agreement with DuPont Crop Protection to screen a DuPont
chemical library to identify compounds that improve crop productivity by
increasing nutrient uptake and tolerance to environmental stress. Pursuant to
this agreement, Icoria will also make the results of its ChemTraits(TM)
screening process available to DuPont Crop Protection for evaluation.
The agreement includes an undisclosed upfront payment and potential
milestone payments and royalties.
"Through our ChemTraits(TM) program, Icoria is looking for ways to trigger
a plant's natural genetic capacity to respond to environmental stress and
suboptimal growing conditions," said Keith Davis, Ph.D., Icoria Vice
President, Agricultural Biotechnology. "The DuPont Crop Protection agreement
is a natural fit with our ongoing ChemTraits(TM) effort and leverages the
expertise we have developed in our GeneFunction Factory(R) work aimed at
identifying genes that can be used for crop improvement." GeneFunction
Factory(R) is Icoria's state-of-the-art phenomics platform integrated with
metabolic profiling and gene expression profiling technologies.
"We are excited about the ChemTraits(TM) program and the opportunity to
work with a major company in the agriculture industry," said Heinrich Gugger,
Ph.D., Icoria President and CEO. "We could be entering an era where we use
chemicals to turn on a plant's inherent abilities, either instead of or in
addition to genetic engineering."
Icoria's ChemTraits(TM) approach uses externally applied chemicals rather
than genetic engineering to modify a plant's behavior. Developmental
ChemTraits(TM) compounds are expected to have a better safety profile than
biocides. They also can be used on demand, which can help farmers adjust to
changing weather and climate conditions and maximize their yields.
Pat Confalone, Ph.D., DuPont Crop Protection Global R&D Director said,
"DuPont Crop Protection is intensely interested in expanding the use of
agrichemicals to applications beyond pest control. We believe the unique
approach offered by the integrated systems biology that is central to Icoria's
technology affords a novel opportunity to discover products that directly
impact crop traits, yield and resistance to abiotic stresses."
About Icoria
Icoria, Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to deciphering the
complexity of biological processes through the application of systems biology
to identify biomarkers for drug discovery and development, diagnostics and to
develop novel agrichemicals. Icoria has major contracts with the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Monsanto Company and Pioneer
Hi-Bred International, Inc. (a subsidiary of DuPont). Icoria also has a major
grant from the National Institute of Standards & Technology's Advanced
Technology Program. For more information, visit http://www.icoria.com .
This press release contains forward-looking statements including but not
limited to the Company's expectations for its systems biology platform and the
potential outcomes of the agreement. Such forward-looking statements are
based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of
risks, factors and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and
performance to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking
statements. These risks, factors and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, Icoria's ability to identify molecules that affect crop traits,
the suitability of these compounds for use in developing agrichemicals,
Icoria's early stage of development, history of net losses, technological and
product development uncertainties, reliance on research collaborations,
uncertainty of additional funding and ability to protect its patents and
proprietary rights. Certain of these and other risks are identified in
Icoria's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and
in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004,
each filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not
intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this
release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our
expectations, except as may be required by law.
SOURCE Icoria, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.icoria.com
CONTACT:
Media-Public Relations of Icoria, Inc.,
+1-919-425-2999, or Brian Ritchie or Mark Vincent, both of EURO
RSCG Life NRP, +1-212-845-4200
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