A licensing agreement between Monsanto and Nomad Bioscience GmbH was reached at the end of June.
The agreement allows Monsanto to apply Nomad’s proprietary technology to its genome-editing projects with the goal of enhancing agricultural crops. Nomad’s research in gene-editing and accelerating improved agricultural product production is very promising. Gene-editing technologies allow scientists to modify plant genes to either enhance characteristics or remove unwanted characteristics in plants.
“Our approach greatly increases both the efficiency of genome editing and the ability to deploy edited traits in commercial varieties, which could prove to be beneficial to the speed and scale at which potential products are developed,” Nomad’s founder and CEO Yuri Gleba said.
The agreement will include a three-year research project on the expansion of the applicability of Nomad’s technology. Monsanto will be allow to use this technology for the company’s own research projects during the three-year period. The agreement also leaves the option open for Monsanto to obtain an exclusive commercial license to apply Nomad’s technology to the development of products.
“Monsanto is committed to delivering best-in-class solutions to growers who face increasing challenges every year,” Tom Adams, biotechnology lead for Monsanto, said. “Our collaboration with Nomad is one example of how we employ the industry’s best science through our own [research and development] pipeline and through strategic partnerships to continually drive agriculture innovation.”
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