Five Points, California, USA
December 9, 2014
Filing represents the second stevia variety patent filed by S&W; will protect a sweet tasting leaf with attractive taste profile
S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW) today announced it has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for stevia plant variety "SW201." Variety SW201 exhibits an improved leaf taste profile that is well suited for producing fresh and dry leaf stevia, as well as the home gardening customer. As the market for Reb-A and other stevia based sweeteners expands worldwide, awareness of the unique properties of the stevia plant itself is increasing amongst knowledgeable consumers. Fresh and dry stevia leaves can be used as a sweetener in beverages, such as teas or coffee, and in cooking applications that might require the leaf to be crushed into a powdered substance. SW201 is believed to be the world's first stevia variety that was specifically bred for consumption as fresh and dried leaf. SW201 is the subject of the second patent filed by S&W for a unique stevia plant variety. On December 1, 2014, S&W announced a patent for SW107 which is designed to be grown for commercial processors who make stevia derivatives for the mass market.
The fresh and dry leaf markets have been largely neglected, until S&W's targeted these markets with the breeding program that yielded SW201. The stevia leaf produced for processors who make stevia derivatives like Reb-A for the mass market, does not need to be optimized for taste and sweetness. Accordingly, the fresh and dried leaf available at natural food outlets and online is dominated by random, and mostly much older varieties of China grown leaf that was originally bred for industrial processing. SW201 not only has a sweet taste with very little bitterness and aftertaste, but exhibited more Reb-A, less stevioside, more total steviol glycosides, a higher Reb-A to stevioside ratio, and a higher percentage of Reb-A to total steviol glycosides compared to the comparison samples from common varieties. An additional benefit for North American farmer is that SW201 has superior overwintering and greater growth and later flowering in comparison to the majority of the plant population from which the line was derived.
Mark Grewal, chief executive officer of S&W Seed Company, commented, "I couldn't be more pleased with the progress made during this past year by our stevia research and development team. S&W is staking out a leadership position in the stevia plant market through our proprietary breeding program. We are developing plant varieties that uniquely meet the specific needs of different end markets. SW201's exceptional leaf taste profile is ideally suited for growing the fresh and dry leaf stevia that is sold as prepackaged leaves in health food and general grocery stores, or as potted plants in home and garden stores. SW201 follows our patent filing for SW107 for the commercial stevia markets in North and South America. We believe there are more opportunities for new stevia varieties to meet the demands of the growing stevia marketplace."
Variety SW201 was classically bred from germplasm that is proprietary to S&W's stevia program which was first commenced in 2009 under the direction of Dr. Clint Shock. Dr. Shock is an internationally recognized expert on stevia. S&W's stevia research and development team has crossed hundreds of lines of stevia plants, from specimens collected over many years, with a goal of developing stevia varieties that have unique properties for commercialization. SW107, the Company's recently filed patent for the mass commercial stevia market, has unique characteristics of high leaf mass, high Reb-A percentage, and exceptional Reb-A to stevioside ratio, as well as improved taste and plant vigor characteristics. The variety will address the mass commercial stevia markets in North and South America. The Company is optimistic that SW107 and SW201 will be followed by other unique varieties that will target specific segments of the stevia plant marketplace.
With the recent patent filings of SW107 and SW201, S&W is in the process of developing various agreements to bring these products to their respective marketplaces. The Company believes there are opportunities for a variety of agreements, including licensing agreements, royalty-based agreements, and other types of transactions similar to those created by ag-biotech companies.
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