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Intrexon Establishes Crop Protection Enterprise to Develop Biological Control

Intrexon Corporation announced initial studies have validated the efficacy of dsRNA for insect control applications using its proprietary ActoBiotics™ platform. With this achievement, Intrexon's collaboration with a leading global agricultural company advances to its next phase of development for biological crop protection solutions.

"We are pleased by the early results showing this biological expression system to be a capable and potentially superior delivery vehicle for biologically active dsRNA as compared to alternative approaches," said Corey Huck, Senior Vice President and Head of Intrexon's Food Sector. "Utilization of the ActoBiotics™ platform in crop protection either as a standalone approach or in combination with conventional systems holds substantial promise."

Each year as much as 16% of global food production is lost to crop damage from insects, and industry reports estimate that spending on insecticides alone exceeds $18 billion annually. In addition to this significant loss of crops, further challenges include climate-driven geographic expansion of crop pests, emerging pest resistance to Bt crops, and increasing resistance to chemical insecticides.

New crop protection technologies are critical to address these issues and improve agricultural productivity. One such innovative, environmentally-friendly approach is the utilization of dsRNA to silence target genes in multiple insect species providing for a novel mechanism and mode of action in pest management strategies. The versatile ActoBiotics™ platform enables production of an array of targeted biologicals including dsRNA for crop protection.

"The manufacture of eco-friendly ActoBiotics™ biologics through fermentation enables the potential for efficient production of dsRNA and easy application. We are excited to achieve this important milestone, allowing us to advance into the development phase and fully explore the promise of this platform," stated Sekhar Boddupalli, Ph.D., President of Intrexon Crop Protection and Head of Intrexon's AgBio Division.