Novartis Seeds today announced an agreement with Monsanto Company and its seed unit DEKALB Genetics Corporation to settle all pending lawsuits between them. Appropriate legal
documents are being filed today with all the courts where matters are pending between the parties. These legal actions involve both contractual and intellectual property rights issues regarding Bt corn, specifically Novartis NK® Brand YieldGard® corn and Novartis NK® Brand Knockout® corn.

The settlement secures for Novartis a royalty bearing license under the DEKALB and Monsanto intellectual property for future sales of Bt corn. Novartis also gains royalty-bearing licenses for glufosinate-resistance in corn. These licenses enhance the value of Novartis Bt corn in the
marketplace while eliminating the risks of costly litigation. Additionally, Novartis has agreed to a license payment for past sales of NK® Brand Knockout® corn while Monsanto has agreed to improved and simplified license terms and conditions for Bt corn to Novartis. Specific financial details were not disclosed.

Further, the agreement resolves the patent infringement lawsuit of Monsanto against Novartis in Delaware, patent infringement lawsuits of DeKalb against Novartis and Novartis distributors in Illinois and Indiana, the patent infringement lawsuit of Novartis against Monsanto and DeKalb in Delaware and the mutual breach of contract lawsuits between Novartis and Monsanto in
Minnesota and Missouri.

"This agreement insures freedom to operate and allows us to bring new, improved NK® brand Bt corn hybrids to farmers in the future", said Edward T. Shonsey, President and CEO of Novartis Seeds, Inc. "I am pleased that these time consuming and costly legal battles have been resolved and we can now more fully focus on our primary goal: meeting the needs of our customers."

Hendrik A. Verfaillie, President and Chief Operating Officer of Monsanto, added: "We can now move forward with more certainty in the marketplace. Farmers will have greater choice in the corn varieties they purchase with built-in protection against insects and with better weed control options."

Novartis Seeds, Inc. is a leading agriculture and biotechnology research organization, which develops genetics and value-added products, and produces and sells corn, soybean, alfalfa, sunflower, sorghum, wheat, sugar beet, vegetable and flower seeds.

Novartis Seeds is a sector company of Novartis, a world leader in Life Sciences with core businesses in Healthcare, Agribusiness, and Consumer Health. In 1998 Novartis Group sales were $21.8 billion, of which $12 billion were in Healthcare, $5.8 billion in Agribusiness, and $4 billion in Consumer Health. The group annually invests more that $2.6 billion in research and development. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis employs about 82,000 people and operates in over 140 countries around the world. The company's US headquarters are located in Summit, NJ.

Monsanto is a life science company, committed to finding solutions to the growing global needs for food and health by sharing common forms of science and technology among agriculture, nutrition and health. The company's 31,800 employees worldwide make and market high-value agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and food ingredients.

Company news release
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