Collaboration focuses on identifying key genes to help farmers produce
more, while conserving more.
ST. LOUIS and REHOVOT, Israel, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
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 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
http://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.
SOURCE Monsanto Company
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Related links:
http://www.monsanto.com
http://www.evogene.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/114341.html/
CONTACT:
Danielle Jany of Monsanto Company,
+1-314-694-2478, danielle.c.jany@monsanto.com; or Liat Cinamon of
Evogene, +972-8-931-1933, cinamonl@evogene.com
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