Meiogenix, Bayer Sign Licensing Agreement

Meiogenix has signed a collaboration agreement with Bayer’s Crop Science division to apply SpiX technology in crops. Under this non-exclusive agreement, Meiogenix will provide access to the SpiX technology and the know-how that Meiogenix has built over the years through different research programs in rice, maize and wheat.

SpiX is a plant breeding technology developed by Meiogenix that increases the genetic diversity of plant germplasm by redirecting the natural and conserved process of meiotic recombination, or an exchange of genetic material that takes place during the formation of gametes. This technology initiates the meiotic recombination by introducing natural and Spo11-targeted recombination events. This approach results in an enhancement of the genetic diversity of the segregants and thus facilitates the identification of novel traits of interest. By doing such, the technology could play significant role in future food production.

Giacomo Bastianelli, Co-founder & CEO of Meiogenix declared: ‘We look forward to working with Bayer in applying our technologies to crops. We have invested years in developing these technologies and we are excited that they are reaching the maturity to be applied at larger scale. I personally believe that genetic technologies that mimic natural processes will contribute to producing food for generations to come.’

Feeding 9 billion people in 2050 is a major challenge for humanity and conventional breeding alone will not be sufficient to meet this ambitious goal. However, in recent years, a series of plant breeding technologies such as SpiX were developed that could help in developing new plant varieties to address our needs while respecting the environment and global resources.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.