World Rice Lider Hisparroz and Oryzon Genomics Announce a Strategic Alliance for the Development of new Rice Varieties.
Hisparroz, major shareholder in the Spanish multinational Ebro-Puleva, and the Catalonian Biotechnology company Oryzon Genomics Sa have announced today the signing of a three years technical collaboration agreement which allows Hisparroz access to Oryzon´s Orysamf technology platform for the production of new rice varieties adapted to the Guadalquivir ecosystem. The project will include the evaluation and commercialization of the new varieties and the granting of royalties to Oryzon; at a level not disclosed.
Barcelona (PRWEB) May 27, 2005 -- The Seville-based company Hisparroz, major
shareholder in the Spanish multinational Ebro-Puleva, and world market leader in
packeted rice, and the Catalonian Biotechnology company Oryzon Genomics SA have
announced today the signing of a technical collaboration agreement which allows
Hisparroz access to Oryzon´s Orysamf technology platform for the production of
new rice varieties adapted to the Guadalquivir ecosystem.
The agreement,
whose financial terms have not been revealed, covers a project of three years
duration in which researchers from both companies will participate and which
will use rice varieties currently in cultivation in the Guadalquivir region as
the basis for the development of improved lines. The project will include the
evaluation and commercialization of the new varieties and the granting of
royalties to Oryzon; at a level not disclosed.
The Orysamf technology
developed by Oryzon is covered by an international patent application and is an
approach of great potential which exploits the knowledge of rice gene function
gained by Oryzon´s geneticists and bioinformatics scientists to produce normal
rice plants changed only in specifically-targeted characteristics
Antonio
Hernandez Calleja, Managing Director of Hisparroz and President of the group
Ebro Puleva commented: “Our business vision for the rice market is to continue
to be leaders in innovation, supporting and optimizing agricultural production
and to play a role in improving quality factors in a sector which is every day
more competitive and demanding. Our agreement with Oryzon genomics is a clear
indication of our aim to lead in innovation”.
Carlos Buesa, director of
Oryzon, stated: “In the past five years, our company has developed technology at
the leading–edge internationally, which permits a targeted approach to solve
problems in Agriculture and Health, applying the latest advances in genomics,
proteomics and bioinformatics. Our agreement with Hisparroz fits perfectly with
the business model adopted by Oryzon of collaboration with the major companies
in the Pharmaceutical, Agriculture and Food sectors. Oryzon is becoming
recognised as a primary collaboration partner in the Spanish biotechnology
sector, and only in the last six months has signed agreements with BASF,
Laboratories Ferrer and Laboratories Esteve. The rice varieties which we will
co-develop and co-commercilize with Hisparroz will be targeted at clear needs in
the rice production sector which Oryzon can approach using our innovative
technology. Our partnership with Hisparroz is of special importance for us as it
represents our first agreement with a major multinational in the rice sector and
it gives us international visibility.
Hisparroz, the leading Spanish
company in rice seed production, is owned by the family Hernandez Calleja, whose
industrial and commercial strategy is integrated within the group Herba Ebro
Puleva.
Spain is a major world force in the production and export of
rice, with Herba being the major European rice company, commercializing
approximately a third of the rice consumed in the EU. Rice production per
hectare in Spain is at one of the highest levels in the world, thanks to the
application of advanced cultivars and constant research and improvement in
production processes, in which the innovative approach of Herba has played a
major role. Herba applies some of the worlds most advanced technology, from the
processes of production to the optical selection of grain colour using
photoelectric cells, the use of scanning systems to detect contaminating
materials, vacuum sterilization and automated packaging lines. In the EU
context, Spain is the second largest rice producer with 0.8 million tonnes
produced annually. Since March 2004, when Antonio Hernandez Callejas was named
President Executive of the Ebro Puleva group, the company has shown very strong
growth in the sector as the result of an ambitious policy of acquisitions. In
2004, the English company Vogan & Company, which commercializes legumes and
rice, was acquired, followed in September by the North American company Riviana
Foods, the number one rice company in the USA, converting the group Herba into
the world’s largest rice company. In 2005, the naming of Antonio Hernandez
Callejas as president of the group coincided with the acquisition of the French
company Panzani, confirming the group’s leadership position in the European food
sector.
Oryzon Genomics, SA (www.oryzon.com) is a Functional Genomics company whose
business model is based on “gene discovery “ which involves the application of
large-scale, high-throughput research tools to determine the function of genes
in chosen organisms, with the objective of subsequent patenting of the genetic
applications developed. Oryzon made three new patent applications in this area
in 2004. The companies division of New Developments in Molecular Diagnostics
uses the most advanced techniques in Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics,
which have allowed the company to establish competitive research programmes in
oncology in the areas of colon cancer and lung cancer and in neurodegenerative
diseases in the areas of Alzheimer’s disease and Lewry Bodies Dementia. The
company has a strong record of alliances with the Spanish pharmaceutical
industry and with research groups in leading Spanish hospitals. In addition, the
companies new technologies for gene discovery are applicable in the formation of
non-transgenic plant varieties, in this area Oryzon is building a significant
network of strategic alliances with leading companies in the agbiotech and food
sectors,. Recently Oryzon signed an important agreement with the multinational
BASF and is involved in important projects in the area of functional foods, a
field of activity targeted as a strategic growth area for the company in the
coming years.
Oryzon was created in the year 2000 as a spin-off of the
University of Barcelona and of the CSIC IBMB and is located in the Parc
Cientific in Barcelona. With a current headcount of 34 scientists, the company
has grown rapidly, financed by the venture capital investor Najeti Capital, SCR,
SA, after having received initial financial support from Enisa and CDTI, which
allowed the company to establish its position internationally in the area of
biomedicine. With a turnover of more than two million euros the company first
recorded benefits in 2004 and has remained in benefit in the first two quarters
of 2005.
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Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb244808.htm