Crop Biotechnology
Our lawyers have worked on some of the leading transactions in agriscience and plant biotechnology, including one of the most significant collaborations to date, representing Monsanto Company in its announced alliance with BASF Plant Sciences LLC, a subsidiary of BASF AG, to develop improved yield and environmentally tolerant traits for corn, soybean, cotton and canola.
We provide assistance to large and small agricultural companies that are working to accelerate the development of new plant technologies, whether through joint ventures, contractual collaborations or public-private partnerships. Plant biotechnology is a major focus of ours, and our lawyers regularly assist clients in research and commercialization agreements, materials transfer agreements and R&D services agreements, as licensors, licensees and in equal partnerships.
Many of our lawyers carry joint degrees in science, or have experience working in this field, which suits them to communicate with our clients' scientists and enables us to construct agreements that effectively balance precise technical concepts with practical business goals through a well-structured legal framework.
We have particular experience with:
- Research Funding and Commercialization Agreements
- R&D Services Agreements
- Gene & Trait Licenses
- Materials Transfer Agreements
- Collaboration Agreements
- Joint Ventures
Recent assignments include:
- Represent a leading agribusiness in plant biotechnology transactions. Transactions have focused on in-licensing improved yield Genes, insect tolerance development programs and partnerships to develop advanced screening assays.
- Represented Mendel Biotechnology Inc. in a multi-year research funding and commercialization agreement with British Petroleum, coupled with an equity investment in Mendel, to develop cellulosic ethanol derived from Miscanthus and Switchgrass.
- Joint venture with a leading ornamental plant breeder and distributor to develop new transgenic ornamental plants with improved environmental tolerance.
- Negotiated multi-year research commercialization and funding agreement with a leading agricultural company to identify, develop and commercialize efficacious genes and plant traits in large acre crops, which partnership also has included multiple rounds of equity investment in our client.
- Negotiate technology evaluation, materials transfer and services agreements for foreign agricultural start-up to distribute and commercialize its proprietary insect resistance and fungal resistance technology through large agricultural companies in the U.S. and Europe.
- Implemented a broad technology licensing strategy designed to encourage the testing and development of our client’s transgenic traits across multiple crops, germplasm and in different geographic locations.
- Represented private entities in public private partnerships, with academic centers, and utilizing government grants to in-license and develop new plant technologies.
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