San Diego, California, USA
October 13, 2010
Due to recent and expected growth, Cibus Global, a pioneering plant trait development firm, has moved its U.S. research facilities to a state-of-the-art, Platinum LEED-certified location in San Diego. Cibus’ move comes on the heels of several new product partnerships and staff additions as it expands its footprint in the development of non-transgenic crop traits. The company is currently hiring for positions—from scientists to administrative personnel—and plans to have a staff of 60 by the start of 2011, nearly doubling its numbers from two years ago.
“Over the past 18 months, Cibus has continued to gain momentum—garnering new partnerships, advancing our scientific research and adding talented individuals to our team,” said Cibus President Keith Walker. “This sustained expansion makes the move to larger facilities a necessity. We are excited to have a new and improved work space in which to continue our research and development efforts to deliver non-transgenic crops to farmers and consumers around the world.”
Cibus’ new office at the Soledad facility is located at 6455 Nancy Ridge Dr., San Diego. Beginning with the Cibus offices and laboratories, a complete renovation to the facility is underway which have resulted in Platinum LEED certification and other significant upgrades. Cibus’ Soledad office is 25,000 square feet of office and lab space, plus a greenhouse.
Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS™), Cibus’ proprietary gene conversion technology, enables seed producers to develop plants that are quicker to market with less regulatory expense. RTDS™ is a non-transgenic approach for providing plant improvements as compared to classical genetic transformation, a process leading to GM products. During the last 18 months, Cibus has successfully secured nearly $50 million in research contracts with partners to develop non-transgenic traits in crops around the world. This has led to a significant expansion of research and commercial based activities for Cibus Global.
Cibus Global develops advantageous crop traits with far-reaching implications in agriculture, alternative energy and product development. Through its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS™), Cibus creates traits in a directed way with more precision than traditional breeding techniques and without the introduction of foreign genetic material. RTDS has proven itself in the laboratory with several different applications, as well as in initial field trials of Cibus’ first commercial crop, canola. Cibus’ products will be brought to market through strategic, crop-specific partnerships; in September 2009, Cibus announced a strategic alliance with Israeli-based Makhteshim-Agan to develop traits in multiple crops
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