North Logan, Utah
May 21,  2001

Apomyx Inc. today announced the appointment of Kent Schulze, a seed industry leader, as its new chief executive officer. 

Schulze, age 57, joined Apomyx on May 15, 2001. Schulze has served in senior management positions in the agricultural seed industry for over 30 years, including top leadership at three global-leading seed companies: DEKALB-PFIZER GENETICS (president/chief operating officer), now part of Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), Northrup King Co. (president and CEO), now part of Syngenta AG (NYSE: SYT), and AgriBioTech Inc. (president/COO). 

Schulze is also the co-founder of ACCESS Plant Technology Inc., a technology transfer company. In his senior leadership roles he has helped commercialize and implement several now widely used seed industry product and process innovations. 

Schulze is well known throughout the seed industry for his leadership and organizational skills, an empowering operational style and for his strategic planning abilities. 

In announcing the appointment, Apomyx Chairman and President John Carman said, "Kent Schulze provides the needed commercial seed industry experience and leadership necessary for us to succeed in our goal of conferring perpetual hybridity to crops, equitably and profitably, worldwide." 

In commenting on his new challenge, Schulze said, "Apomyx represents a unique opportunity to once again participate in the commercialization of a dynamic new agricultural technology. ApoSync(TM) Technology holds great promise for delivering affordable, value-added products and product improvements, and serving the growing needs of the world's food and fiber markets." 

Apomyx Inc. has international pioneer patents (variously allowed and pending) for its ApoSync(TM) technology, which confers, stabilizes and controls apomixis (natural cloning of hybrid plants through their own seed). 

The "genetic fixation" of hybrid vigor afforded by apomixis is expected to substantially reduce costs of hybrid seed production for crops currently grown as hybrids. It is also expected to make economical the conversion of varietal crops, e.g. wheat, rice and soybean, to hybrid crops with accompanying yield increases. 

Apomyx plans to enter into strategic alliances with seed companies and to develop innovative apomictic seed products for worldwide distribution and sale. Carman, professor of plant genetics, Utah State University, has published research findings concerning apomixis for two decades. Based on his discoveries, he founded Apomyx Inc. on March 2, 1998. 

Company news release
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