The chemical company Bayer AG said Wednesday it has acquired Icon genetics AG, a biotech company working on methods for the development and use of engineered plants for producing pharmaceuticals and other high-value compounds.

The acquisition will strengthen Bayer's activities aimed at producing specific pharmaceutical substances in plants (plant-made pharmaceuticals, or PMPs). This technology utilizes the natural protein production processes in plants as a way of producing therapeutically active substances.

Icon Genetics AG has more than 40 patents that have been granted or applied for, including:

• RNA-Virus-Derived Plant Expression System
• Safe Production of a Product of Interest in Hybrid Seed
• Process of Producing a Plastid-Targeted Protein in Plant Cells
• Plant Transformation with in vivo Assembly of a Sequence of Interest
• Method of Protein Production in Plants
• Commercial Use of Arabidopsis for Production of Human and Animal Therapeutic and Diagnostic Proteins

Click here for a list of Icon Genetics' published patents.

Source: BayNews