October 15, 2015
Syngenta expands corn traits licensing agreement
Syngenta has announced an expansion of its licensing collaboration with KWS SAAT SE and Limagrain Field Seeds, together with their joint ventures, AgReliant and Genective.
The new agreement is for 20 years and covers the AgReliant business in North America and individual operations of AgReliant and Genective outside North America.
Under the terms, Syngenta will provide global rights to its current and future GM corn traits portfolio. In addition, Syngenta will receive a US$200 million upfront payment as well as future royalty and milestone payments, dependent upon regulatory approvals.
"This agreement is a further affirmation of the value of Syngenta''s innovative GM traits portfolio and biotechnology capabilities," said Davor Pisk, the CEO of Syngenta. "The creation of additional value through trait out-licensing, as well as the incorporation of leading technologies in our own branded offer, will be an important driver in improving the profitability of our Seeds portfolio."
According to Hagen Duenbostel, KWS'' CEO, the agreement will support Genetive''s "open architecture strategy" of combining their proprietary GM corn traits with "leading trait platforms" in the industry.
Bruno Carette, the CEO of Limagrain, reflected positively on the agreement, commenting that it is a "strong addition" to its Field Seeds product portfolio.
"The ability to combine highly competitive proprietary germplasm with both Genective and Syngenta''s leading GM traits will increase the options offered to our corn customers around the world," Carette said.