Bayer CropScience signs option agreement with Scivax

Date:10-30-2009

Bayer CropScience and the biotech company Scivax Corporation, Kawasaki, Japan, have entered into a cooperation on yield enhancement under abiotic stress conditions in plants, initially in cotton. Under the terms of this agreement, Bayer CropScience will sponsor and support Scivax’s Research & Development (R&D) activities in these traits for the next three years. In turn, Scivax grants Bayer CropScience an option to obtain a worldwide, exclusive license to their patent portfolio for use in crops. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Scivax has been developing technologies for enhanced yield since 2005 under collaboration with Professor Teruhiro Takabe of Meijo University and Professor Tetsuko Takabe of Nagoya University. The company has demonstrated the value of their technology under abiotic stress conditions in greenhouse trials with a variety of crops. Scivax and Bayer will now join forces to further optimize the technology.

Dr. Linda Trolinder, Global Cotton R&D Manager at BioScience, a business operations unit of Bayer CropScience, welcomes this business relationship with Scivax. “At Bayer CropScience, we strive to be the global innovation leader in cotton and are investing significantly in the development of valuable new solutions for farmers to help them be more productive and profitable. We anticipate that Scivax’ innovative technology will contribute to further strengthening our competitive position in the global cotton market, especially with regard to ensuring higher yields in difficult climatic conditions.”

"We are excited about this collaboration with Bayer CropScience, an established innovator and global leader in agribusiness,” said Norimichi Okuda, Vice President at Scivax Corporation. “We are looking forward to our relationship to develop valuable products utilizing our yield enhancement and abiotic stress improvement technology.”