July 26, 2012
Monsanto employs Mendel''s yield technology in soy yield trait
The flagship yield technology of Mendel, as it announced Monday (July 23), has taken another important step towards the market as Monsanto will be employing this technology in its new soy yield trait.
Last week, as part of its assessment process, the USDA''s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) made available for public comment a petition requesting deregulation of the high-yield soy trait. Higher-yielding soys are aimed at boosting the intrinsic yield potential of the soy. In addition to developing the underlying technology for the yield trait, Mendel has done critical research to determine the molecular basis for the yield improvement and to support the regulatory approval process. The technology is currently in Phase three of Monsanto''s product pipeline.
Mendel and Monsanto have worked together on the development of biotechnology traits for more than a decade in many crops, including corn, soy, cotton and rapeseed. This exclusive collaboration ended in 2011, enabling Mendel to develop and maintain ownership of its new technologies while working with a broader array of commercial partners from the beginning of 2012.
Mendel''s work in this field has enabled it to develop a unique understanding of plant gene regulatory networks (PGRNs) and this is the basis for Mendel''s on-going discovery and application work across a variety of fields. Mendel is now using its PGRN platform to crack the code of crop performance in the field. While much private and public investment has been made into determining the physical structure of crop genomes, the Mendel PGRN platform instead focuses on the expression of crop genomes, which enables Mendel to translate genomic information into crop productivity traits.
Mendel is now investing substantially to identify new PGRNs for improved yield and resource use efficiency. Mendel has already identified a number of promising and novel PGRNs based on these screens, and is developing a robust patent estate to protect these new inventions.
This new investment has been funded by an inside financing round completed in late 2011, with participation from all of Mendel''s later-stage investors. Key to this investment is Mendel''s shift from an exclusive partnering model to an "open architecture" model in which Mendel will license, co-develop and commercialise products with a broad range of customers across the agricultural industry.
Mendel is the leading plant science company meeting the needs of global agriculture. For over fifteen years, Mendel has been deploying its PGRN platform and proprietary tools to harness a crop''s genetic potential, in order to enhance agricultural productivity, resource use efficiency and crop quality. This PGRN platform has identified technologies for next-generation yield traits in Monsanto''s product pipeline. PGRNs are also the foundation of collaboration with Bayer CropScience to develop a pioneering class of crop performance chemistries. Crop protection is a third major market segment for Mendel, with a focus on developing new herbicide targets and herbicide product candidates using this same platform. Mendel is actively seeking collaborators to develop novel products and technologies across a broad array of agricultural applications.