DuPont, Syngenta Form JV

By Scott C. Lucas|10 April 2006

The JV, to be called GreenLeaf Genetics LLC, will offer maize and soybean breeding material from DuPont and Syngenta, and will facilitate the licensing of biotech traits from the two companies. Each company will have a 50% share of ownership of the JV.

The two companies also agreed to cross-license certain maize and soya traits that each company will market independently.

GreenLeaf Genetics will be based in Omaha, Nebraska, US, and will be led by Ron Wulfkuhle, current head of Syngenta’s GreenLeaf Genetics business.

Through the cross-license agreements, Syngenta also receives a global license to the Optimum GAT glyphosate/ALS herbicide tolerance trait from DuPont for soybeans and maize, which is expected to receive regulatory approvals in or around 2009. DuPont receives a global license to Syngenta’s insect resistance technology for European corn borer, corn rootworm, and broad lepidopteran control.

This is the second business agreement between Syngenta and DuPont this year. In February, the companies struck a deal that gave Syngenta worldwide license to develop DuPont’s Rynaxypyr insecticide in mixtures, and DuPont received worldwide rights to Syngenta’s strobilurin fungicide picoxystrobin.