In a multimillion euro deal, BASF Plant Science gains exclusive license rights to genetic traits discovered and validated by CropDesign for commercial use in major crops, such as corn, soybean and wheat. the two companies will also engage in collaborative research aiming at improving productivity and enhanced resistance to environmental stresses, such as drought.

A spin-off from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology, belgium-based CropDesign uses its proprietary TraitMill platform--proprietary bioinformatics tools, high throughput gene engineering systems, efficient methods for plant transformation, and a unique set up for automated evaluation of crop performance-- to discover genetic traits and develop crops and seeds with improved traits.

Source: CropDesign Media Release, Dec 14, 2005Photo Credit: BASF Plant Science