FLAX: A Bit o' Background Reading Over Your Morning Coffee

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"BASF and Cibus collaboration on herbicide tolerant (HT) crops

In July 2007, BASF and Cibus announced their collaboration to develop and commercialize non-GM HT oilseed **** and canola.

Examples of such collaborations that will help shape the future of trait-based innovations from BASF include those with BASF Plant Science, the plant biotechnology company of BASF, and collaborations with Monsanto Company and Cibus LLC. "

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Cibus LLC changed its' name to Cibus Global:

http://www.agrow.com/multimedia/archive/00069/Agrow_577_69150a.pdf

quote "develop crops with tolernace to a"a spectrum of crop protection products that MAI markets" as well as "performance enhancement" traits. Further details remains confidential." unquote

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San Diego Cibus Inks Deal with Flax Growers to Avoid GMO Flak

Alyson Emanuel, BASF Director, Global Strategic Marketing Herbicides, said, "We are very pleased with the success of the next generation of CLEARFIELD products. BASF worked with Cibus to develop seeds using Cibus' RTDS technology to target a specific trait not previously achieved with other technologies and the results have been outstanding. As a result of the development of this new proprietary herbicide tolerant trait using the RTDS process, seed companies will be able to put this unique trait into hybrids more efficiently, leading to increased on-farm yields."

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"San Diego’s Cibus Global is uniting with Canada’s flax growers to develop a crop strain resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used weed killer Roundup. Flax, also known as linseed, is a major crop grown for both its seeds and fibers, with various parts of the plant used to make linen and other fabrics, dyes and inks, medicines, and other products."

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"The Flax Council of Canada is investing about $5.5 million in the partnership, including the proceeds of a $4 million grant it received from the Canadian government. Revenues from the new strain of seed would be split between the Flax Council and Cibus, according to Barry Hall, president of the growers’ group."
http://www.eusem.com/main/news

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"The startups that nabbed the funding cover the energy, medical devices, pharmaceutical, and agriculture spaces. That’s right, agriculture. Yes, it’s not typically an industry that we’d cover, but I kept the $201,132 in equity, options, and warrants for San Diego-based Cibus Global on the list because of the way the company has been innovating in the area of crop trait development"

http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2010/03/31/introducing-under-the-radar-funding-in-san-diego-four-startup-financings-you-probably-haven%e2%80%99t-heard-about/

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Quote: "I’m interested to see when these companies will complete their offerings, or roar out of stealth mode. In the meantime, check out the consolidated list below of February under-the-radar deals.

Catadon Systems Carlsbad, CA A maker of towers for elevating wind turbines Equity $689,500
Aethlon Medical San Diego, CA A developer of a medical device to treat infectious diseases Debt* $600,000
Ampla Pharmaceuticals La Jolla, CA A stealthy biotech company Equity $295,271
Cibus Global San Diego, CA A developer of environmentally friendly technology for producing crop traits Equity* $201,132

*includes some options and warrants


Erin Kutz is an Assistant Editor for Xconomy. You can reach her by e-mail at ekutz@xconomy.com or by phone at (617) 252-0700."

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"Cibus’ technology is a targeted mutagenesis approach that “harnesses the natural DNA repair system in plant cells.” According to the Flax Council’s press release, the technology is exempted under the E.U. Directive on GMOs and is classified as “non-transgenic” by the USDA. Of course, regulatory compliance in the E.U. does not guarantee political or commercial success" unquote

Indeed.

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If the "the technology is exempted under the E.U. Directive on GMOs and is classified as “non-transgenic” by the USDA", you can well can you think of anyone who might not want the want the new-arriving roundup-flax crossing with Triffid GM flax because it would then test GMO?

Hm. Let me think.

click. click. click. clickety-clack.

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So, wouldn't the best way for the new product's arrival be to destroy the old GM flax first?

Yup.

But that would cost money?

So, wouldn't the best way for a company to herald a new product's arrival would be to first get the old flax identified, and then get the old flax destroyed, BUT all paid for by somebody else?

Somebody really dumb?

And then soothe it over with honey-toned comforting interviews and well-paid quills till the squawking subsided?

Just a few morning thoughts. Pars

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Yep.

They had a year of low production this year to completely flush the system, through incentives and marketing, to completely get rid of triffid.

And instead, they come up with a solution that will more than likely create the same problems.

And to be clear - there is no shortage of flax. New varieties will only depress the market.

Buctril m and centurion are maybe a little more expensive than using r-up but if the r-up variety ruins the market it becomes more expensive.

Once again I am asking myself "who thinks this shit up..."

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"Cibus Global and BrettYoung to Launch Canola Crops Enhanced by Cibus' Non-Transgenic Technology
12/9/2009

Cibus Global and Brett-Young Seeds Limited (BrettYoung) announced an agreement that will bring new canola traits to the North American market. Through the partnership, Cibus will develop unique crop protection and performance enhancement traits for canola using its patented Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS(TM)). BrettYoung will bring the value-added traits to market through its seed distribution network in the United States and Canada"

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Makhteshim-Agan and Cibus Global Announce Proprietary Crop Protection Traits Agreements
September 21, 2009


In an announcement via company press release, Tel Aviv, Israel-based Makhteshim-Agan (MAI) and San Diego, California, US trait development company Cibus Global (CIBUS) have signed Strategic Development Alliance wherein MAI will invest up to US$37 million over five years, based on certain milestones, in a Joint Venture (JV) with CIBUS to develop proprietary crop traits in five major crops with a European focus. A separate Strategic Equity Alliance allows MAI to gradually acquire up to 50.1% of CIBUS' equity.

Under the terms of the Strategic Development Alliance, CIBUS will develop proprietary traits that include both performance enhancement traits as well as crop protection product tolerance to a spectrum of crop protection products that MAI markets. These traits will be commercialized in high-performance seed
lines in cooperation with leading seed companies and will allow MAI to participate in capturing the value of trait-based crop protection. The JV will develop these traits using the proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) technology developed by CIBUS, which enables much faster and efficient trait development than traditional plant breeding techniques, CIBUS says. In addition to yielding significant economic advantages to farmers growing these important crops, MAI and CIBUS believe that the newly developed traits will enable more efficient and environmentally responsible usage of agricultural crop inputs over the crop production cycle.

Avraham Bigger, Chairman and CEO of MAI, said that, "We are very pleased to announce our well thought-through entry into the trait and seed business areas, which will allow us to participate in capturing the value of these important fields and enhance our innovative offering and market positioning. The partnership with CIBUS, a leading research and development firm with unique and innovative technologies, provides the opportunity for MAI to invest in the Company and ultimately become a greater than 50% shareholder in this exciting firm, and has the potential of forming a new business activity for MAI."

“We are very pleased to be partnering with MAI, a very successful and forward-looking global peer from the crop protection sector, to bring the first benefits of this unique trait-development capability to farmers worldwide,” said Stephen Evans-Freke, Chairman of CIBUS.

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Quote "Cibus Partnerships
• BASF (www.basf.com)......" unquote

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It's always interesting to browse through the financial officer of a company.

LaDon Johnson, is the CPA Chief Financial Officer and Cibus President, Cibus International.