- Syngenta venture capital investment subsidiary created
BASEL, Switzerland, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Syngenta Ventures
announced today that it has made an equity investment in Metabolon, a
privately-held U.S. biotechnology company focused on the use of metabolomics
in research and diagnostics. This is the first direct investment by Syngenta
Ventures, Syngenta's newly-established corporate venture capital subsidiary.
"The creation of Syngenta Ventures will complement our in-house R&D work and
enables us to be even more involved in promising technologies and innovative
products with external partners," said Robert Berendes, Head of Business
Development at Syngenta. "We need access to the best available new
technologies in order to achieve the increase in agricultural output which
will be vital over the coming years."
Sandro Aruffo, Head of Research and Development at Syngenta, added: "This
investment follows a research collaboration with Metabolon which has existed
for some years. We believe Metabolon's unique metabolomics platform will be an
increasingly important technology for the development of innovative new
products in the agriculture industry."
Metabolomics provides mechanistic insight and biochemical markers for complex
biological processes. This technology aims to accelerate the development of
plants with innovative new native and genetically modified traits.
Syngenta Ventures will take a seat on the Board of Metabolon. The equity
investment was made in the Series C financing of Metabolon which raised in
total $12.3 million from a number of investors, including Syngenta Ventures.
Financial details of the equity investment were not disclosed.
About Syngenta
Syngenta (NYSE: SYT) is one of the world's leading companies with more than
24,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant
potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment
to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the
environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information
about us please go to www.syngenta.com.
About Metabolon
Metabolon is a diagnostics and services company offering the industry's
leading biochemical profiling platform. Metabolon's patented platform provides
a global analysis of complex biological samples for the discovery of markers.
This metabolomics-driven approach enables the identification of biomarkers
useful for the development of a wide range of diagnostics and provides insight
into complex biochemical processes such as drug action, toxicology and
bioprocess optimization. For more information about Metabolon, please visit
www.metabolon.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements, which can be identified by
terminology such as 'expect', 'would', 'will', 'potential', 'plans',
'prospects', 'estimated', 'aiming', 'on track' and similar expressions. Such
statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the
actual results to differ materially from these statements. We refer you to
Syngenta's publicly available filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission for information about these and other risks and uncertainties.
Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect
actual results, changed assumptions or other factors. This document does not
constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any
solicitation of any offer, to purchase or subscribe for any ordinary shares in
Syngenta AG, or Syngenta ADSs, nor shall it form the basis of, or be relied on
in connection with, any contract therefore.
Media contacts:
Medard Schoenmaeckers
Switzerland +41 61 323 2323
Paul Minehart
USA +1 202 737 8913
Analyst/Investor contacts:
Jennifer Gough
Switzerland +41 61 323 5059
USA +1 202 737 6521
John Hudson
Switzerland +41 61 323 6793
USA +1 202 737 6520
SOURCE Syngenta
Media, Medard Schoenmaeckers, Switzerland, +41 61 323 2323, or Paul Minehart,
USA +1-202-737-8913; Analyst/Investors, Jennifer Gough, Switzerland, +41 61
323 5059, USA, +1-202-737-6521, or John Hudson, Switzerland, +41 61 323 6793,
USA, +1-202-737-6520, all for Syngenta
