Origin Agritech Announces Commercialization Agreement for New Generation Insect-resistant GMO Corn Gene
Origin Agritech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SEED) has signed a commercialization agreement with the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for a new insect-resistant GMO corn gene. This agreement follows over a decade of collaboration, allowing Origin to patent transgenic corn developed from the gene. Origin will manage the bio-safety certification process and holds exclusive worldwide commercialization rights, paying a single-digit percentage of sales royalties to IPP.
- Commercialization agreement with a leading research institute enhances product pipeline.
- Exclusive worldwide rights to market the transgenic corn gene support future revenue growth.
- Long-term collaboration demonstrates a strong partnership and confidence in technology.
- Dependence on obtaining a bio-safety certificate adds uncertainty to the commercialization timeline.
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BEIJING, Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Origin Agritech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SEED) (the "Company" or "Origin"), an agriculture technology company, today announced that the Company has entered a commercialization agreement with Institute of Plant Protection(IPP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) for a new generation insect-resistant GMO corn gene.
Origin has been collaborating closely with CAAS for more than 10 years, and IPP supplied Origin with the insect-resistant gene and with technological support. Origin has since taken the gene and created transgenic corn and further went on to validate the efficacy of the insect-resistant gene. Given that the project has cleared this major hurdle, the parties have expanded their collaboration into a commercialization agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will continue to work together and intend to jointly file for patents on the transgenic corn and other crops created from this gene. Origin will be responsible for obtaining a bio-safety certificate, a key step needed before commercialization in China. Origin will retain exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize all crop seed containing this gene and in return will pay a single-digit percentage of sales royalty to IPP.
"Origin Agritech is a leader in crop genetic transformation in China and has outstanding advantages in the breeding and industrialization of new varieties," said Dr. Jie Zhang, deputy director of IPP, "We are thankful to have a partner with all the capabilities needed to commercialize the corn that was created based on the gene that we invented."
"Institute of Plant Protection has some of the world's brightest geneticists working to develop crops that are insect resistant, drought tolerant, and higher yielding," said Dr. Gengchen Han, Origin's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited to take their gene and create a product out of it as we see a huge need for insect-resistant crops in China."
About Institute of Plant Protection
The Institute of Plant Protection (IPP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) was established in 1957. It is a national non-profit scientific research institute specializing in crop pest research, prevention, and control.
About Origin Agritech Limited
Origin Agritech Limited, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Zhong-Guan-Cun (ZGC) Life Science Park in Beijing, is China's leading agricultural technology. In crop seed biotechnologies, Origin Agritech's phytase corn was the first transgenic corn to receive the Bio-Safety Certificate from China's Ministry of Agriculture. Over the years, Origin has established a robust biotechnology seed pipeline including products with glyphosate tolerance and pest resistance (Bt) traits. For further information, please visit the Company's website at: http://www.originseed.com.cn or http://www.originseed.com.cn/en/.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and contain words like "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "will," "would," "target," and similar expressions and variations. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized. They are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates but involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements are: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; ability to respond to market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies affecting our products; failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues; changes in laws and regulations or political conditions; global economic and capital markets conditions, such as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; business or supply disruptions; natural disasters and weather events and patterns; ability to protect and enforce the company's intellectual property rights; and separation of underperforming or non-strategic assets or businesses. The company undertakes no duty or obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments, or new information or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.
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SOURCE Origin Agritech Limited
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