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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1653)	3/17/1999 12:25:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

3/17 Novartis Enters Biotech Race For Cereal, Herbicide-Resistant Corn Seen By 2003 LONDON (Dow Jones)--Swiss multinational Novartis AG (Z. NOV) is planning to enter the cereals market in a bid to boost sales of the company's gene-modified seed, Wolfgang Samo, head of the Novartis Agribusiness Division, told Dow Jones Newswires this week. Developing cereal crops would give Novartis access to a vast market. The value of the world wheat market alone for biotechnology companies was put by one industry analyst at around $70 billion. Research is underway to engineer a variety of barley which would be easier to malt, said Samo. He said the market for such 'output traits', qualities designed to benefit the processor or consumer of the crop, is even larger than the market for crops engineered to resist weeds and insects. "Input traits are just the door openers for biotech. Output traits (will) determine the market - I think it is unlimited," said Samo. The acquisition of French grain seed company C.C. Benoist S.A. last year, the second purchase of such a company by Novartis, should help Novartis to eventually penetrate the wheat market. Although Novartis is not currently running any research projects on wheat, a spokesman said developing a herbicide-resistant wheat seed is a long-term aim for the company. Sales of herbicide resistant seeds and their compatible pesticides are already big business for German biotechnology firm AgrEvo GmbH and Monsanto Corp (MTC). Sales of Monsanto soybeans engineered for resistance to its own brand of herbicide, Roundup, have boomed in the U.S. over the last year. By delaying the start-up of research projects into wheat, Novartis risks falling behind other biotechnology companies. A spokesman for Monsanto, which sources say has made the most progress of all biotechnology firms towards genetically modifying wheat, said it aims to have its wheat on the market within the next five to seven years. "We are not really a big wheat seeds company," said Samo. "We will first get to know the market better before embarking on big GMO (genetically modified organism) projects." Samo said research is still being conducted into the herbicide - called a protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitor, or PPO - that would eventually work together with Novartis herbicide-resistant crops. He said Novartis PPO-resistant corn, which would be marketed in conjunction with PPO, should be on the market by 2003. The company already sells corn seeds genetically modified to produce bacillus thuringiensis, an insect-killing bacteria. "We have the chemical pesticide in development. It is not yet fully developed," Samo said. A research manager at the company has said the new Acuron gene, which makes plants resistant to PPO, could eventually be applied to wheat, soybeans and rice. According to Samo, Novartis genetically modified wheat is "quite a long way down the line". Novartis will be aided in marketing corn by its joint venture with U.S.-based Land O' Lakes Inc., which is, according to Samo, among the largest cooperatives of corn producers in the U.S. Engineering new genetically modified varieties of rice is not part of Novartis' immediate plans, Samo said. He added that Novartis donated the right to use its Bt gene in rice to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Using the Bt gene, the IRRI is trying to develop a rice resistant to the plant hopper, an insect which damages rice crops in much of southeast Asia. -By Daniel Balint-Kurti 44-171-832-9561; daniel.balint-kurti@dowjones.com (END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-17-99 06:06 AM

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1653)	3/17/1999 12:27:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

3/17 11:32 Monsanto Withdraws Brazil Biotech Soy Application SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--Monsanto do Brasil Ltda., part of the giant Monsanto (MTC) agribusiness and chemicals conglomerate, was forced to withdraw its application with the Brazilian government for commercial planting of genetically modified soybeans in the country, the environmental organization Greenpeace said Wednesday. In a news release, Greenpeace said the withdrawal follows weeks of protests by environmental and consumer groups, including a lawsuit aimed at halting the granting of a license to plant Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" soybeans. "Brazil is the second biggest exporter of soybeans and remaining genetically engineered (GE) free ensures that there is an alternative to the GE contaminated crops of the U.S.," the statement said. In September, Brazil's National Technical Commission for Biological Safety, known as CTNBio, approved a request by Monsanto to produce genetically modified soybeans. However, the approval of the agriculture ministry, and probably the environment ministry as well, is needed for commercial production. Monsanto officials weren't immediately available for comment, but the company press relations agency said that the withdrawn registration refer to the intellectual property of the genetically altered seeds, cataloged with the agriculture ministry. It was unable to promptly elaborate on the issue. A local press report Tuesday said that before the planting permission for commercial purposes is issued, the intellectual property registration is needed. Monsanto developed the so-called "Roundup Ready" soybeans, resistant to its herbicide of the same name, which is widely used in plantations. Monsanto expected to distribute seeds of genetically modified soybeans for commercial planting by mid-1999, for harvesting in early 2000 in Brazil. -By Mara Lemos; (5511) 813-1988; mlemos@ap.org (END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-17-99 11:32 AM

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1653)	3/17/1999 12:30:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

3/17 11:41 Japan Tobacco, Zeneca Plan JV On Gene Recombination TOKYO (Nikkei)--Japan Tobacco Inc. (J.JTB or 2914) and Zeneca Ltd. (ZEN) will work together on development and production of genetically altered farm products, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Thursday morning edition. Plans call for creating high-yield plants and a strain of rice that can replace corn as livestock feed, company sources were cited as saying. A joint venture will be established in Japan as early as this summer with capitalization of about Y10 billion, provided equally by the two companies. The alliance should help Japan Tobacco and Zeneca to counter the challenge posed by U.S. biotechnology firms such as Monsanto Co. (MTC) in the market for popular Asian foods. The companies initially hope to create new strains that enable greater harvests. China and other Asian countries with falling rates of food self-sufficiency, as shown by increasing corn imports, are eager to substitute locally grown rice for corn as animal feed. Japan Tobacco has already developed the world's first technology for implanting genes into rice plants. Zeneca was set up in 1993 when Imperial Chemical Industries Plc (ICI) spun off its pharmaceutical, agricultural chemical and other bioscience businesses. (END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-17-99 12:01 PM