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The joint venture, which spans five years, will leverage both companies’ advanced gene editing capabilities to accelerate the delivery of gene edited products.

Corteva, Inc., a global leader in agricultural technology and Pairwise, a technology company pioneering the application of gene editing in food and agriculture, have announced a collaboration to accelerate the delivery of advanced gene editing solutions to farmers, ultimately benefitting both the environment and everyday consumers. Gene editing uses a plant’s own DNA to make precise improvements, providing growers with another critical tool to keep pace with the challenges facing food production, including those presented by climate change.

Anchoring the collaboration is Corteva’s $25 million equity investment in Pairwise, made under the umbrella of Corteva Catalyst, the company’s new investment and partnership platform focused on accessing agricultural innovation to drive value creation. The investment aims to help expand the reach and benefits of gene editing to a wide variety of staple and specialty crops.

In addition, Corteva and Pairwise have formed a joint venture to accelerate and expand the delivery of advanced gene edited technologies aimed at increasing crop yield for food, fuel and fiber production, despite increasing climate change.

The joint venture, which spans five years, will leverage both companies’ advanced gene editing capabilities to accelerate the delivery of gene edited products by generating and evaluating unique gene edits across multiple traits in a range of crops. Building on Corteva’s longstanding leadership in plant breeding and genetics, the companies will collaborate on the development and deployment of gene edited products that are more resilient to extreme weather events and climate change.

“Gene editing is a transformational technology for agriculture that will advance climate resilience in farming and drive the increased farm productivity needed to feed and fuel the world’s growing population,” said Sam Eathington, Corteva’s chief technology and digital officer. “As a gene editing technology leader ourselves, we are proud to work with Pairwise to accelerate the benefits of gene editing not only to farmers, but ultimately to those who rely on the availability of sustainably grown and affordable food – and that’s all of us.”

“Gene editing is poised to revolutionize agriculture, enabling the cultivation of crops that are more adaptive to climate change, are more nutritious and convenient for consumers, and deliver greater economics for growers,” said Tom Adams, Pairwise CEO and co-founder. “Through our Fulcrum Platform, we’re proud to be at the helm of applying this transformative technology in agriculture and, alongside partners like Corteva, accelerate the realization of these benefits across global stakeholders.”

Pairwise is a leader in using gene editing to make differentiated crops. Last year, the company launched the first CRISPR food in North America, and has multiple products in development across significant crops, including corn, soy, wheat, canola, blackberries, and more. The Pairwise Fulcrum™ Platform includes proprietary gene editing tools that provide the ability to not only turn a characteristic on or off but also, with base editing and related technologies, “tune” it to find it’s sweet spot for highest performance. Pairwise’s novel editing tools allow scientists to precisely tailor a wide range of genetic variation to develop new, distinctive plant varieties much faster and more effectively than through conventional breeding alone.

This is the first joint venture and major equity investment in gene editing made by Corteva Catalyst, the company’s new investment and partnership platform. The investment reflects Corteva’s nearly century-long track record (through its Pioneer brand) of championing innovation through partnerships, including with the global scientific community.

The joint venture, which spans five years,

Corteva Catalyst will partner with entrepreneurs and innovators to accelerate the development of early-stage, disruptive technologies.

Corteva, Inc.  announced the launch of Corteva Catalyst, a new investment and partnership platform focused on accessing and bringing to market agricultural innovations that advance the company’s R&D priorities and drive value creation. Corteva Catalyst will partner with entrepreneurs and innovators to accelerate the development of early-stage, disruptive technologies that enable farmers to sustainably produce more food and feed.

“Corteva has a long tradition of addressing the critical challenges farmers face around the world by advancing innovation in partnership with the global scientific community,” said Sam Eathington, EVP and Corteva Chief Technology and Digital Officer. “Through Corteva Catalyst, we will build upon that tradition by pairing our considerable expertise and resources with the agility of start-ups and universities to deliver new solutions for farmers globally. This initiative will expand our pipeline and accelerate growth.”

Leveraging Corteva’s expertise, recognized R&D capabilities, global footprint and go-to-market infrastructure, Corteva Catalyst is uniquely positioned to support the development and commercialization of groundbreaking technology and deliver it directly into farmers’ hands.

Corteva Catalyst will initially focus on identifying opportunities across four strategic verticals aligned with the company’s R&D priorities: genome editing; biologicals and natural products; technology platforms; and decision science. 

Corteva Catalyst will partner with entrepreneurs and

Corteva to receive exclusive rights to further develop and commercialise Lavie Bio’s lead product candidates for fruit rot and powdery mildew fungicide biologicals

Lavie Bio Ltd., a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. and a leading ag-biologicals company that develops microbiome-based, computational-driven bio-stimulant and bio-pesticide novel products, announced a licensing agreement with Corteva, a leading ag innovation company. The agreement grants Corteva exclusive rights to further develop and commercialise the lead bio-fungicide product candidates targeting fruit rots and powdery mildew, which were discovered and developed by Lavie Bio. The agreement comes after two years of independent field validation conducted by both companies.

Fruit rots and powdery mildew, two destructive diseases affecting vineyards, fruits, and vegetables, have resulted in annual losses estimated at billions of dollars globally. Fruit rot pathogens, such as Botrytis, can cause damage upon contact with infected plant material. Meanwhile, powdery mildew spreads swiftly between plants via wind-dispersed spores.

The agreement is part of Lavie Bio’s strategy to cooperate with the world’s leading companies to allow the products it develops to reach farmers worldwide and Corteva, with its proven agbiological capabilities, can leverage Lavie Bio’s product candidates toward commercial success. This collaboration demonstrates both companies’ commitment to providing farmers with environmentally friendly, sustainable tools with proven effectiveness.

“Our licensing agreement solidifies the collaboration between both companies, leveraging Corteva’s impressive scale-up capabilities and market leadership, in conjunction with Lavie Bio’s distinctive discovery expertise powered by Evogene’s MicroBoost AI tech-engine and comprehensive product development capabilities,” said Amit Noam, CEO of Lavie Bio. “This agreement not only highlights Lavie Bio’s technological capabilities but also enables us to swiftly introduce groundbreaking ag-biological solutions that benefit farmers, consumers, and the environment.”

“When you have a world-class R&D program, as we do at Corteva Agriscience, it allows you to move fast and bring on new opportunities that will help farmers meet the demands of an ever-changing food system,” said Sam Eathington, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Digital Officer, Corteva Agriscience. “This agreement gives us yet another avenue to provide better solutions to farmers now, and in the future.”

Corteva to receive exclusive rights to further

As part of the company’s efforts to advance sustainable innovation, 90 per cent of new crop protection products and all new seed products now meet Corteva’s sustainability criteria.

Corteva Agriscience has released its 2022 Sustainability and ESG Report, providing an update on the commitments the company has made to address some of today’s most pressing environmental, economic and social challenges. The report details the company’s goals to help the world’s farmers be more productive and resilient, preserve biodiversity, reduce the climate impact of its operations and increase inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) within its workforce.

“Sustainability is at the heart of our business,” said Chuck Magro, Chief Executive Officer, Corteva Agriscience. “We are working to solve complex food and energy security challenges while preserving the long-term health and viability of farmland and other natural resources.”

As part of the company’s efforts to advance sustainable innovation, 90 per cent of new crop protection products and all new seed products now meet Corteva’s sustainability criteria, which are aligned to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Additional sustainability efforts in 2022 include the purchase of Stoller Group and Symborg to position Corteva as one of the largest biological plant health companies in the world; receiving seven-year amended Environmental Protection Agency registrations for Enlist One® and Enlist Duo® herbicides; and the introduction of Sosdia™ Stress, a biostimulant that enhances crop resilience against stressors like drought, excessive heat or sunlight.

“Our Research and Development teams are focused on developing sustainable solutions that increase productivity and profitability potential while improving resilience to increasing weed, insect, disease, and extreme weather pressures and protecting our natural resources,” said Sam Eathington, Chief Technology and Chief Digital Officer, Corteva Agriscience. “Our innovation engine is delivering solutions that give farmers more options to improve yield potential and minimize inputs to build whole-farm systems that are strong and stable.”

Corteva is also making progress towards its Inclusion Diversity & Equity (ID&E) goals while continuing to build on its winning culture, including increasing the number of women in management roles by six percent and being named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies in 2022.

As part of the company's efforts to

Novel New Technique Uses CRISPR to Increase Multi-Disease Resistance Using Native Genes

Corteva Agriscience announced a game-changing gene editing technology that will bring added protection to elite corn hybrids that are advancing through the company’s R&D pipeline. The early-stage concept uses proprietary technology to package multiple disease-resistant native traits into a single location in the gene to better address the most devastating North American corn diseases facing farmers today.

By using gene editing to combine and reposition disease-resistant traits that already exist within the corn genome, Corteva is able to bolster disease tolerance and minimise production stress. Additionally, the technology could result in healthier plants and increase yield potential even further.

“This transformational technology represents the next generation of plant breeding innovation,” said Sam Eathington, Chief Technology and Chief Digital Officer, Corteva Agriscience. “Our best-in-class gene mapping capabilities have allowed us to identify and optimally position the best native resistant genes in our already high-performing hybrids so that we can deliver a premium product to farmers.”

As plant disease continues to be a growing concern for farmers, the multi-disease resistance concept is intended to simplify disease management and improve sustainability by reducing the need for additional crop protection product applications. This advancement will also meet Corteva’s sustainable innovation criteria for new products, which are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Additionally, it provides farmers with more freedom to select performance characteristics more in line with their yield goals than having to worry about disease resistance.

Corteva has a long-standing commitment to meeting the rapidly evolving needs of farmers around the world. This breakthrough is another proof point in Corteva’s efforts to provide farmers with more sustainable ways to protect their crops while continuing to safeguard the land, water and air resources that make food production possible.

Novel New Technique Uses CRISPR to Increase