LONGMONT, Colo., Nov. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed
Company (NASDAQ: SANW), a global agricultural company
headquartered in Longmont, Colorado announced today that it has agreed to
commercial terms with Calyxt, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLXT)
headquartered in Roseville, MN for
the exclusive license of an improved quality alfalfa seed in the
U.S. and other select geographies.
S&W Seed Company worked in collaboration with Calyxt to
identify a novel, proprietary trait for improved forage quality in
commercial alfalfa production. The new trait, branded as IQ™
Alfalfa (IQA), gives farmers a new way to produce alfalfa forage
with improved ruminant digestibility for livestock. S&W
Seed Company will market IQA products under its Alfalfa Partners
brand and will also offer IQA licenses to industry partners.
"S&W Seed Company and Calyxt scientists have collaborated on
this project for the past several years, leading to this
breakthrough in alfalfa forage quality improvement," said S&W
Seed Company Executive Vice President, Don
Panter. "IQ Alfalfa will add unique value to the
market, and we are looking forward to putting this new technology
into select U.S. grower's hands in limited quantities in 2021."
"This announcement is the third press release we have made in
the past several months about innovative new technologies we are
launching at S&W Seed Company," said Mark Wong, CEO of S&W Seed Company.
"Commercializing IQ Alfalfa further demonstrates our commitment to
bring novel technologies to secondary crops which have been largely
underserved by large multi-national technology companies."
S&W Seed Company will plant in 2021 research and
demonstration IQA plots in the U.S. to demonstrate the value of
this new technology. The first products launched in Fall 2021
will be non-dormant alfalfa varieties, followed by dormant alfalfa
variety options in 2022 and beyond. More information
will be forthcoming on the plans and field results of this new
technology launch.
S&W Seed Company's North
America product portfolio includes market leading
proprietary alfalfa seed varieties, grain and forage sorghum
hybrids, and sunflower hybrids. S&W Seed Company markets
its alfalfa seed products in the United
States under the Alfalfa Partners brand.
About S&W Seed
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed
Company is a global agricultural company headquartered
in Longmont, Colorado.
S&W's vision is to be the world's preferred proprietary seed
company which supplies a range of forage and specialty crop
products that support the growing global demand for animal proteins
and healthier consumer diets. S&W is a global leader in
proprietary alfalfa, sorghum, and pasture seeds, with significant
research and development, production and distribution capabilities.
S&W's product portfolio also includes hybrid sunflower and
wheat and the company is utilizing its research and breeding
expertise to develop and produce stevia, the all-natural, zero
calorie sweetener for the food and beverage industry. For more
information, please visit www.swseedco.com.
About Calyxt
Calyxt (NASDAQ: CLXT), based in
Roseville, Minnesota, is a
technology company with a mission to deliver plant-based
innovations for a better world. Founded in 2010, Calyxt uses
its proprietary TALEN® gene editing technology to work
with world-class partners via technology licensing, product
development, and seed sale arrangements to revolutionize the way
the world uses plants to solve problems. For further
information, please visit our website at www.calyxt.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor
provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. In some cases, you can identify these statements by
forward-looking words such as "anticipates," "estimates,"
"expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "should,"
"will," or "continue," the negative of these terms and other
similar terminology. Forward-looking statements in this press
release include statements about the performance of the new,
improved quality alfalfa and the potential license revenue that
Calyxt may receive from U.S. sales. These and other forward-looking
statements are predictions and projections about future events and
trends based on our current expectations, objectives and intentions
and premised on current assumptions. Our actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements could be materially different
than those expressed, implied, or anticipated by forward-looking
statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited
to: the severity and duration of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and
the resulting impact on macro-economic conditions; the impact of
increased competition—in particular, with respect to enhanced
quality alfalfa; disruptions at our or S&W's key facilities;
changes in customer preferences and market acceptance of our or our
partners' products, including iQ Alfalfa; competition for
collaboration partners and the successful execution of
collaborations; the impact of adverse events during development,
including unsuccessful field or development trials or disruptions
in seed production; failures by third-party contractors; inaccurate
demand forecasting, including with respect to iQ Alfalfa sales
projections used by Calyxt management in determining potential
license revenues; disruptions to supply chains, including
transportation and storage functions; commodity price conditions;
the impact of changes or increases in oversight and regulation;
disputes or challenges regarding intellectual property,
particularly with respect to the pending patent for Calyxt's new,
improved quality Alfalfa trait; proliferation and continuous
evolution of new technologies; management changes; dislocations in
the capital markets; and other important factors discussed under
the caption entitled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form
10-K and subsequent filings on Form 10-Q or 8-K with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not assume any obligation
to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as
otherwise required by law.
For further information, please contact:
Michael
Eade
720-506-9191
Mikeeade@swseedco.com
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SOURCE S&W Seed Company