>>SANTA CLARA, Calif. and ST. LOUIS, March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Affymetrix, Inc., (Nasdaq: AFFX - news) and Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON - news) announced today that Monsanto has entered into a custom supply agreement for GeneChip® technology which it will use to study plant development and disease. Monsanto will use the GeneChip platform in its research to improve food quality while enhancing crop yield and reducing the need for chemical inputs. As part of this supply agreement, Monsanto and Affymetrix have collaborated to create a single microarray representing the Arabidopsis genome. Monsanto will use this proprietary microarray as part of its high-throughput discovery program.
``Monsanto has long been a pioneer in applying genetic technology to improve their products, and that far reaching vision has made them a leader in agriculture,'' said Robert Lipshutz, Ph.D., Vice President of Corporate Development and Licensing at Affymetrix. ``Their decision to use Affymetrix technology underscores our position as the preferred microarray platform for studying a wide range of organisms -- from human to plant. ''
Chris Burnley, Monsanto's Vice President of Strategy and Alliances, said moving to pre-synthesized arrays would allow Monsanto to shift valuable resources to direct research and ultimately allow it to bring better products to market faster.
``Our priority is creating the best agricultural products possible and getting them to market as soon as we can,'' said Burnley. ``Affymetrix' technology will help us spend less time managing enabling technology and more time on what we do best -- discovering products.''<<
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Cheers, Tuck |
