News Releases
Bayer CropScience and DuPont Announce Canola Trait Licensing Agreement
| Contact: | DuPont | Bayer | ||
| Bridget Anderson | Richard Breum | |||
| +515-535-3120 | +49-2173-38-3270 |
New Offerings to Expand Canola Grower Choices
MONHEIM, Germany, and DES MOINES, Iowa, April 18, 2011 – Bayer CropScience and DuPont announced today that they have entered into a global licensing agreement for a canola herbicide tolerance trait.
Bayer has licensed its proprietary herbicide tolerance technology, LibertyLink®, to DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred for use in canola (Brassica napus) hybrids. Pioneer will provide Bayer access to certain proprietary juncea (Brassica juncea) genetics. Financial details were not disclosed.
“As a result of the agreement, growers will have a broader choice of LibertyLink®canola hybrids and the option to use the successful Bayer herbicide, Liberty®, in their weed management program,” said Joachim Schneider, head of the BioScience business unit of Bayer CropScience.
“In addition to expanding the Pioneer® brand canola lineup for our customers, the addition of Liberty® herbicide tolerance will contribute to sustainable crop production by rotating herbicides with different modes of action,” said Ian Grant, Pioneer business director for Canada. Canola is a form of rapeseed grown primarily in Canada, the United States and Australia on about 10 million hectares (24 million acres) while juncea is primarily grown on 7 million hectares (17 million acres) in India and has adaptation possibilities in other geographies.
“The access to juncea germplasm will strengthen our long-term global Brassica oilseeds breeding program by expanding our portfolio and providing additional choices to growers,” said Schneider. Hybrid products bred from this germplasm would have the potential to provide excellent yield and agronomic qualities like drought-, heat-, and disease-tolerance.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 6.830 billion (2010), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 20,700 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.
Pioneer Hi-Bred (www.pioneer.com), a DuPont business headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is the world’s leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics, providing high-quality seeds to farmers in more than 90 countries. Pioneer provides agronomic support and services to help increase farmer productivity and profitability and strives to develop sustainable agricultural systems for people everywhere. Science with Service Delivering Success™.
DuPont (www.dupont.com) is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 90 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; seasonality of sales of agricultural products; and severe weather events that cause business interruptions, including plant and power outages, or disruptions in supplier and customer operations. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information.
04/18/11
The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Pioneer® and Science with Service Delivering SuccessTMare registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates.
Liberty Link® is a registered trademark of Bayer CropScience.
