Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. announced today that it has achieved a major milestone in its functional genomics collaboration with Monsanto Company and Savia, S.A.

Mendel Biotechnology is screening the function of genes in planta and has identified a number of very promising leads to improve the yield, disease resistance, and nutritional value of plants for the benefit of farmers and consumers. "This milestone represents an extraordinary amount of hard work and demonstrates the tangible results coming from early leadership in plant genomics,'' said Christopher Burnley, Vice President, Genomics Strategy & Alliances, Monsanto Company. 

The collaboration was initiated in November 1997, and requires Mendel Biotechnology to provide
Monsanto and Savia with a minimum number of functionally characterized genes and leads over a five-year period. "We are ahead of schedule for functionally characterizing the genes and are confident we will meet additional milestone events in the future,'' said Guo-Liang Yu, Senior Vice President for Research and Development. "We are taking full advantage of the synergies created from interacting closely with scientists at Monsanto and Savia.''

Monsanto and Savia have rights to develop and commercialize any of the identified leads in certain crops, and certain vegetables and fruits. Mendel Biotechnology retains the rights to develop and commercialize the leads in all other plants.

Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. is a plant functional genomics company focused on the discovery and
development of technologies to improve plant characteristics for agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Mendel Biotechnology has additional research collaborations with Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., among others.

Company news release
N2325