Canberra, Australia and Frankfurt, Germany
17 June, 1998
CSIRO and Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH
(AgrEvo) announced today that they have entered into a wide-ranging strategic research
alliance. AgrEvo GmbH, its Australian subsidiary AgrEvo Pty Ltd, and CSIRO will
collaborate in specific areas of agricultural biotechnology to develop
innovative technologies of interest to both parties. The agreement calls for an initial
five-year funding commitment by AgrEvo for several plant biotechnology research programs
to be conducted at CSIRO.
Under the terms of the research alliance, CSIRO and AgrEvo have identified several areas
of interest for collaboration. Specifically, the research alliance will focus on
development of innovative enabling and platform technologies, including those designed to
protect crops against
insect pests and plant diseases, as well for cotton fiber quality improvement. Australian
farmers spend millions of dollars each year on crop protection products to reduce the
damaging effects of insects and of other disease-causing pests. Additionally, CSIRO has
long been active in cotton crop improvement research and is the leading developer of
cotton seed varieties for the Australian market.
In addition, AgrEvo will make available to CSIRO proprietary enabling and platform
technologies for improvement of crops important for Australian farmers. Enabling
technologies are the basic tools required for plant genetic engineering, while platform
technologies confer plants with
such traits as insect tolerance and herbicide resistance. The agreement establishes a
protocol for the commercialization of the results of the research alliance, the specific
terms of which have not been disclosed. The agreement also provides for access to CSIRO
for the technologies contributed by AgrEvo, and those developed in the program, for the
benefit of Australian farmers.
According to Dr. Malcolm McIntosh, Chief Executive, CSIRO, the alliance is a bold step
towards expanding Australia’s competitiveness in agricultural research and
international markets. "With this agreement CSIRO is helping ensure access to
state-of-the-art technology for Australian agribusiness. It also enables us to leverage
our on-going research results and products into international markets." Dr. McIntosh
added that CSIRO will maintain ownership of the intellectual property arising from the
collaboration, and for which AgrEvo will be awarded rights for use in a range of crops,
including cereals, vegetables, oilseed rape and cotton.
Dr. Jan Leemans, AgrEvo Board member responsible for seeds and biotechnology, stressed
AgrEvo’s commitment to CSIRO. "We are delighted to have further strengthened our
relationship with one of the world’s leading agricultural research institutions. This
collaboration will enhance AgrEvo’s position in the evolving crop production
industry." Dr. Leemans also commented that the new research alliance would create
significant synergies for both organizations. "Combining efforts and technologies
will not only allow us both to do more for less, but will without doubt spur the
creativity and innovation that comes from this kind of high-level international
collaborations. We look forward to our work together with CSIRO and its partners in
Australian agribusiness."
In 1997 AgrEvo and CSI (Cotton Seed International) announced the establishment of AgrEvo
Cotton Seed International (ACSI). CSI is responsible for ensuring the
commercialization outside of Australia of cotton varieties developed by CSIRO. ACSI is
based in Memphis, Tennessee and launched five cotton varieties this year for sale in the
U.S. ACSI is also developing cotton varieties incorporating AgrEvo’s insect tolerance
and Liberty Link technologies for farmers in the U.S. and other international markets.Company news release
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