Dow AgroSciences, Sigma-Aldrich sign manufacturing and supply agreement

Dow AgroSciences LLC and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation recently announced an exclusive manufacturing license and supply agreement that will allow Sigma-Aldrich to manufacture and supply zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) reagents for use with EXZACT^TM Precision Technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Sigma-Aldrich will be the exclusive provider of ZFN reagents for use in plants which will be available to Dow AgroSciences, its affiliates and licensees of the EXZACT Precision Technology to enable precision transformation, trait stacking and targeted mutagenesis in plants.

The EXZACT Precision Technology is a versatile and comprehensive multi-technology platform that enables targeted genome modification in plants. These technologies have been developed by Dow AgroSciences for use in plants. A core component of the platform is Sangamo Biosciences Inc.’s proprietary zinc finger technology, which Dow AgroSciences has licensed exclusively for use in plants with the ability to broadly sublicense to others in the plant technology space.

“Sigma-Aldrich was the partner of choice given its existing expertise in manufacturing ZFN reagents as part of the CompoZr® platform and excellent reputation for servicing clients in the Life Sciences market,” says Daniel R. Kittle, Ph.D., Vice President, Research & Development, Dow AgroSciences. “This exclusive manufacturing and supply agreement marks an important milestone for DAS and its licensees, securing much-needed additional capacity and a competitive cost position for ZFN reagents. This is critical as the EXZACT Precision Technology is deployed in product development.”

“Sigma-Aldrich is excited to support Dow AgroSciences in their decision to integrate ZFNs into their seeds and traits pipeline,” said Shawn Shafer, Functional Genomics Market Segment Manager at Sigma-Aldrich. “As the first company to commercially distribute these products, Sigma-Aldrich is pleased to be their manufacturer of choice, providing Dow AgroSciences and Dow AgroSciences licensees with validated genome editing reagents built on the same platform as our gold standard CompoZr ZFNs. The ability to make precise genetic changes in plants will benefit researchers and consumers alike."

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.