August 25, 2003
From
Iowa Farm Bureau
By Dale Johnson
Iowa may be thrust into the forefront of the bio-pharming
industry with the purchase of a leading biotech company by an
Iowa-based seed company.
International Oilseed Distributors Inc. of Adel, a subsidiary of
Stine Seed Company, has purchased majority ownership in
ProdiGene Inc., one of the United States’ leading research
companies in the
production of bio-pharmaceutical crops, the Spokesman has
learned.
“ProdiGene is a leading-edge research company in the United
States in the plant-based production of recombinant products
with large potential for applications that benefit human health,
animal production
and create new industrial uses,” said John Reiher, who has been
named chief executive officer of ProdiGene.
Reiher has global business experience in research, industrial
and agriculture markets. He’s worked for Apogent Technologies, a
diversified worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale
of laboratory, life science and diagnostic products used in
healthcare, and with Stine Seed Company. He said they will
supply working capital, assume select obligations and seek to
commercialize ProdiGene’s products.
“We believe the corn plant and ProdiGene’s intellectual
portfolio offer real potential to reduce the cost of some
important pharmaceutical products,” Reiher said.
“The new investment provides ProdiGene with the resources to
complete commercialization of trypsin and other products,” said
Reiher. Trypsin is a key industrial enzyme used in
pharmaceutical
manufacturing and other applications. The company is also
developing aprotinin, a protease inhibitor used in cardiac
surgery wound healing, plus other oral vaccines and industrial
enzymes.
“The new management team brings the experience of the Stine
organization and its entrepreneurial track record to ProdiGene.
We look forward to combining our technology portfolio with the
innovative
intellectual property controlled by ProdiGene,” Reiher said.
Good for Iowa
The purchase is seen as benefiting Iowa agriculture and creating
opportunities for farmers.
Reiher said the combined management teams of ProdiGene and the
Stine entity, plus the research and market relationships of both
companies, mean that Iowa has taken a step toward becoming a
leader in bio-pharming.
However, no bio-pharmaceutical crops will be grown in Iowa until
it is clear that the production can be done while meeting strict
scientific protocols established by the federal government, he
stated.
ProdiGene plans to maintain research operations in College
Station, Texas, where it is located. John Howard, a former Iowan
and founder of ProdiGene, will continue as ProdiGene’s chief
technology officer. Reiher said some business activities and
management staff will be based in Adel.
As part of the purchase agreement, Stine will pay the unpaid
portion of a $3 million penalty assessed ProdiGene by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) from contamination of soybeans
in an Aurora, Nebraska elevator and an Iowa field.
Iowa fund
Iowans have a stake in ProdiGene through a prior investment by
Iowa Agricultural Finance Corporation’s (IAFC) tecTERRA Fund, a
venture capital investment company created by the Iowa
Legislature to foster growth-oriented value-added food
processing and biotechnology companies. The Iowa Farm Bureau and
Farm Bureau Financial Group are also investors in tecTERRA.
tecTERRA remains a significant owner in the newly structured
ProdiGene and will also participate in a reformatted board of
directors, said Tom Steen, tecTERRA principal with Cybus Capital
in Des Moines.
The Stine organization, he added, has the industry credentials
and business experience to shepherd ProdiGene in safely
developing and commercializing products in an emerging market. |