Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Dow AgroSciences to collaborate on development of crop protection products

Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have entered into a crop protection research, option and license agreement to evaluate the potential use of Metallophile Technology to develop novel agricultural chemicals with new modes of action.

Under terms of the agreement, Viamet will utilize its proprietary Metallophile Technology, and Dow AgroSciences will employ its proprietary compound screening and product development capabilities, to discover and develop product candidates against priority targets in the crop protection field.

"We are excited to partner with a proven pioneer in novel technology," stated Dan Kittle, Ph.D., research and development vice president for Dow AgroSciences. "Viamet has demonstrated success in developing markedly improved inhibitors of large and commercially validated classes of enzymes in the pharmaceutical arena. This collaboration with Viamet and its Metallophile Technology will accelerate the development of new agricultural chemistry and bring new, robust solutions to the agricultural market and farmers around the world."

The alliance with Dow AgroSciences is a further demonstration of the broad and varied application of Viamets Metallophile Technology in varied fields and industries.

"Partnering with Dow AgroSciences on this program provides Viamet with the opportunity to expand the Metallophile Technology beyond our current market opportunities," commented Robert Schotzinger, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Viamet. "Dow AgroSciences is the perfect partner to help us solve a significant problem faced throughout the world, namely crop loss. Safety and efficacy are the cornerstone for all of our human therapeutic programs and will certainly be a primary focus as we work with Dow AgroSciences on this important endeavor."

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Viamet Pharmaceuticals:

Viamet discovers and develops novel inhibitors of key metalloenzymes via an innovative and proprietary metal-binding approach, the Metallophile Technology. Viamets disruptive Metallophile Technology is based on its world-class expertise in bioinorganic chemistry and metalloenzymes and allows Viamet to identify metalloenzyme targets with high therapeutic and commercial potential, leverage existing metalloenzyme inhibitors as the basis for its novel analogs, and rapidly and cost-effectively generate superior compounds by optimizing the metal-binding component of existing inhibitors. Viamet is based in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina.

About Dow AgroSciences:

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, IN, is a top-tier agricultural company providing innovative agrochemical and biotechnology solutions globally. The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, has sales of $4.5 billion.