FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cibus and The National Grain Sorghum Producers Foundation Announce Alliance with Valent to develop Herbicide Tolerant Grain Sorghum
~Cibus' revolutionary technology drives new model for industry collaboration~
~Innovative non-gmo with high crop tolerance to valent's leading grass herbicide~
San Diego, California; Walnut Creek, California (January 30, 2007) — Cibus, the U.S. plant breeding technology company and The National Grain Sorghum Producers Foundation (NGSPF), which is affiliated with the National Sorghum Producers, today announced a partnership with Valent U.S.A. Corporation, a leading provider of innovative crop protection products, to develop non-GMO herbicide tolerant grain sorghum.
Valent brings its expertise in herbicide development and management to an alliance between Cibus and NGSPF. The collaboration pioneers a new standard for providing valuable traits to farmers while avoiding the unknown and potentially unintended consequences associated with GMO crops. Cibus’ proprietary gene conversion technology, known as the Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS ™), will be used to develop this new trait in grain sorghum, providing high tolerance levels to Valent’s leading postemergence grass herbicide brand, Select Max® Herbicide with Inside Technology™. This will significantly enhance the productivity and profitability of sorghum farming operations.
“With both Valent and Cibus’ missions to provide innovative and sustainable technologies to the agribusiness community, this collaboration will benefit growers and be a natural fit for us,” says Trevor Thorley, President/COO, Valent U.S.A. Corporation. “Cibus’ proven technology opens new doors for all parties, and will help growers more easily produce safe and abundant food. Given the global reach of Valent’s parent company, Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd., a world leader in the discovery of crop protection and plant enhancement products, we look forward to exploring opportunities with Cibus for other crops around the world.”
“Sorghum producers have needed some new grass control options for quite some time,” said NGSPF President Bruce Maunder. “Our partnership with Cibus and now Valent will allow for much-needed technology development in our crop. Once it makes its way into producer fields, it should help increase both yields and profitability for sorghum producers.”
“This is an exciting project,” said NSP CEO Tim Lust. “With new grass control options, producers will begin considering planting sorghum in fields where that may not be an option now. This is a clear win for sorghum producers.”
NGSPF plans to use revenues derived from this partnership to reinvest in sorghum research and development as part of a long-term program for sorghum improvement. And since RTDS can develop non-GMO traits faster and at lower cost than transgenic alternatives, this will save farmers an estimated $25 million per crop.
The RTDS™ process works through the cell’s natural process of gene repair. Every time a cell copies DNA, it makes “scrivener” errors or spelling mistakes. These variations happen all the time, which is how natural variation occurs. Cibus’ technology harnesses the cell’s own natural DNA repair machinery to correct such spelling mistakes, thus directing DNA repair enzymes to correct and repair the targeted gene in a specific way in order to produce a desired trait. The process, in its precision, is similar to altering a single letter in a word contained within a large book. Nothing in the genome, other than the changes directed by the process, is altered by this approach.
“RTDS promises a revolution in genetics—a limitless range of value added new products that are acceptable to environmentally-conscious consumers and governments, and help farmers solve their toughest pest management problems,” says Dr. Keith Walker, President of Cibus. “RTDS technology can be used to create non-GMO plants tolerant to most herbicide chemistries currently marketed to farmers, such as a Select Max® tolerant grain sorghum. But the opportunities also include healthier oils and nutraceutical oils in crops such as canola and soybeans plus many other valuable traits.”
"A recent Kansas State University survey of more than 600 sorghum producers from across the United States identified grassy weed control for grain sorghum as their No. 1 research priority. Select Max® provides fast and complete control of emerged annual and perennial grassy weeds in over 100 crops, including soybean, sunflower, cotton, and sugar beets,” says Joseph Short, Product Manager for Valent. “Sorghum producers will see increased convenience, yield and profits when they can selectively control grasses with an over-the-top application of Select Max®."
Enquiries:
Cibus
David Voss, Vice President
651-702-0456
Valent U.S.A. Corporation
Joseph Short
925-256-2746
National Grain Sorghum Producers Foundation
Dr. Bruce Maunder
Larry Lambright
806-749-3478
The Rosen Group
Shawna Seldon
212.255.7541
Notes to Editors:
About RTDS™
RTDS™ technology produces changes within a plant species that could only occur in nature, but does so in a directed way. Thanks in part to recent developments in genome mapping, RTDS is significantly more precise and much faster than conventional plant breeding in the process of new trait development in plants.
RTDS, known as directed mutagenesis, works through the cell’s natural process of gene repair. Every time a cell copies DNA, it makes “scrivener” errors or spelling mistakes. These variations happen all the time, which is how natural variation occurs. Cibus’ technology harnesses the cell’s own natural DNA repair machinery to correct such spelling mistakes, thus directing DNA repair enzymes to correct and repair the targeted gene in a specific way in order to produce a desired trait. This very precise process is similar to altering a single letter in a word contained within a large book.
About Cibus
Cibus is a privately held San Diego-based trait development company. Cibus produces environmentally friendly crop traits for the agricultural community that do not carry the market-resistance or regulatory burden of attributes engineered through the introduction of foreign genetic material. The Company accomplishes this through the application of a new and proprietary technology called the Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS™), which has proven itself in the laboratory with several different crops, and in initial field trials of Cibus’ first commercial crop.
About Valent
Valent U.S.A. Corporation is a leading provider of innovative, sustainable crop protection products. The firm markets and sells herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, bioinsecticides, insect growth regulators, nematicides, baits and plant growth regulators for the agricultural, horticultural, turf, ornamental and professional pest control markets in North America. Valent is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd., a world leader in the discovery of crop protection and plant enhancement products.
For more information about Select Max, Valent U.S.A. Corporation or Valent's full product line, call 800-6-VALENT (682-5368) or visit the Valent Web site at www.valent.com.
About NGSPF and NSP
The National Grain Sorghum Producers Foundation was established to promote and fund the improvement of sorghum and its uses both nationally and internationally. The foundation is headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, in the heart of the U.S. Sorghum Belt that stretches from the Rockies to the Mississippi River and from South Texas to South Dakota. The foundation is affiliated with the National Sorghum Producers, an organization that works to ensure the profitability of sorghum production through market development, research, education and legislative representation.
