Syngenta and NRGene Expand Collaboration as Syngenta Signs Long-Term Licensing of GenoMAGIC'

Collaboration to have disruptive impact on the world food supply

PR Newswire

RALEIGH, North Carolina and NESS ZIONA, Israel, January 16, 2018

RALEIGH, North Carolina and NESS ZIONA, Israel, January 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Syngenta, a global leading agrochemical and seed company, and NRGene, the premiere genomic big data company, have continued to advance their cooperation in breeding and trait discovery in key crops.

Syngenta has licensed NRGene's GenoMAGIC^TM, a cloud-based big data analytics platform, to evaluate, predict, compare and select the best genetic makeup for crop molecular breeding and genomic selection. The agreement is on a non-exclusive, multi-year basis.

The GenoMAGIC system will be implemented in Syngenta's advanced R&D pipeline and will influence key decision making for hardier, more productive crops. GenoMAGIC^TM was developed by a unique mix of highly experienced algorithm designers, software engineers, plant breeders, and plant geneticists and is used by seed companies like Syngenta and major academic and research institutions worldwide to actively battle world hunger and increase profitability for growers.

GenoMAGIC^TM reveals the broad genetic diversity of crop plants and optimizes the use of genetic diversity throughout the breeding pipeline. Syngenta was an early adopter of GenoMAGIC and has demonstrated the significant advantages of using NRGene's pangenome approach to haplotyping.

"NRGene's GenoMAGIC system is an enabler for us to unlock the full potential of the genetic diversity available within our breeding programs," said Dr. Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, Head Seeds Research at Syngenta. "This next phase in our collaboration should greatly improve our ability to predict performance and accelerate our ability to bring innovation into the hands of growers around the globe."

"The fact that leading international companies like Syngenta have chosen to adopt GenoMAGIC reinforces the fact that we're on the right track, developing the big data tools to facilitate cutting- edge, highly sophisticated breeding, adding our modest contribution toward global food security," said Dr. Gil Ronen, chief executive officer of NRGene. "We look forward to broadening the use of our tools to support the genetic research of plants and animals, as well as humans."

About Syngenta

Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Throughworld class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visitwww.syngenta.comandwww.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/Syngentaandwww.twitter.com/SyngentaUS.

About NRGene
NRGene is a genomic big data company delivering cutting-edge software and algorithms to reveal the complexity and diversity of humans, plants, and animals and support the most advanced and sophisticated breeding and research programs. NRGene tools have already been employed by some of the leading seed companies worldwide as well as the most influential research teams in academia. www.nrgene.com.

NRGene Contact
Amy Kenigsberg
K2 Global Communications
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