New Brunswick, New Jersey
November 5, 2002
Senesco Technologies, Inc. ("Senesco" or the "Company")
(AMEX:SNT) announced today that following negotiations in
Tianjin, China, the Company signed a Letter of Mutual Intent
(the "Letter") with the
Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (the "Academy").
The Letter outlines the structure for the
exclusive use of the Company's technology by the Academy in a
variety of fruit and vegetable crops in China.
The proposed terms provide for a $35 million (subject to further
negotiations) technology transfer fee to be paid to Senesco upon
the initial transfer of the Company's technology. Subsequent
payments would be made to Senesco over a multi-year period in
conjunction with training and support provided by the Company as
well as after the first harvest of selected crop varieties. In
addition, the Company may receive royalties on future sales.
The Letter is not binding and is subject to further negotiations
of the final terms of agreement. Due to the size and complexity
of the proposed transaction, it is anticipated that three to six
months will be required to complete the agreement.
Bruce Galton, President and CEO of Senesco, stated, "This is a
tremendous first step towards the worldwide commercialization of
our technology. We believe, and the members of the Tianjin
Academy agree, that implementing Senesco's technology in Chinese
agriculture will be advantageous to all involved. As the Chinese
agricultural industry evolves to feed a growing population,
Senesco's technology will enable the more efficient production
of crops on a national level. We are certainly quite excited at
the prospect of bringing our technology to the world's most
populous market."
About Senesco Technologies, Inc.
Senesco takes its name from the scientific term for the aging of
cells: senescence. The Company has developed technology that
regulates the onset of cell death. Delaying cell breakdown in
plants extends the freshness of perishable produce (e.g.
flowers, fruits and vegetables) after harvesting and also
increases crop yields, plant size and resistance to
environmental stress. The Company believes that Senesco's
technology can be used to develop superior strains of crops by
delaying natural plant senescence and reducing the incidence of
premature senescence due to environmental stress. Senesco has
also begun to explore ways to trigger or delay cell death in
mammals (apoptosis) to determine the extent to which the
technology may be applicable in human medicine. Senesco partners
with leading-edge companies and earns research and development
fees for applying its gene-regulating platform technology to
enhance its partners' products. Senesco is headquartered in New
Brunswick, New Jersey, and has research laboratories at the
University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
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