April 15th, 2008
Evogene Ltd. (TASE: EVGN) and CBD Technologies Ltd. (CBD Tech), a wholly owned subsidiary of FuturaGene (LSE: FGN) to collaborate on the improvement of cotton fiber properties. Under the agreement signed between the parties, CBD Tech gains rights in cotton to certain promoters (genetic elements which activate gene expression) discovered by Evogene for evaluation in CBD Tech's research & development program. The promoters were discovered by Evogene utilizing its in-silico gene discovery platform, the "ATHLETE."
Improving cotton fiber properties is of major interest to the cotton industry. High quality cotton fibers are essential for better yarn performances and optimal utilization through modern spinning technologies, hence produce higher value per pound for the farmer.
Cotton fiber is constituted of 100% cellulose. As CBD Tech’s cell wall modifying technology has shown demonstrable cellulose polymer and fiber improvement in tree species, this collaboration is aimed at combining Evogene's promoters with CBD Tech’s cell wall modifying genes in order to enhance cotton fiber properties.
About Evogene
Evogene is a leading developer of improved plants for the ag-biotech and biofuel industries. The Company’s proprietary product development platform combines world leading computational gene discovery technologies, high throughput selection systems and advanced breeding methods. The platform’s computational biology component - the ATHLETE - is based on Compugen's (Nasdaq: CGEN) in-silico predictive discovery capabilities. Evogene's current programs focus on yield under normal and various environmental stress conditions (such as drought), fertilizer utilization and the improvement of plants specifically for biofuel uses. Evogene has collaboration and licensing agreements with world leading companies in the ag-biotech and alternative energy industries. Evogene's headquarters in Rehovot, Israel, and is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE:EVGN). For additional information, please visit Evogene’s website at www.evogene.com
About FuturaGene PLC
FGN is a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on research, development, and commercialization of technologies that play key roles in substantially improving agronomic traits of value in plants. In particular the Company is focused on the development and commercialization of modified plants for improving yields, processability and environmental sustainability in the forestry, biofuels and agricultural sectors. FuturaGene licenses intellectual property from leading universities in its strategic fields of interest and is exploiting the synergies of these technologies with the cell wall modification platform of its wholly owned subsidiary, CBD Technologies, Inc. (CBD Tech) in forestry, food and biofuel crops.
CBD Tech has pioneered a modality for altered cell walls, resulting in enhanced growth and biomass, increased cellulose, improved fiber properties, improved digestibility and processability, and increased yield properties and has secured broad intellectual property covering plants with modified cell walls showing such altered properties. More information is available at
www.futuragene.com
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