Cibus and Calyxt, which both specialize in gene edited crops, will merge.
“We can accomplish things with better accuracy and speed that is going to change the scale of breeding opportunities in which farmers can expect big changes in what’s possible in the next 10 years,” said Rory Riggs, co-founder of Cibus and newly named chief executive officer of the merged company.
Riggs says the merger and the first products the new company will bring to market have the opportunity to cement the idea of a “real business” behind gene editing. They include pod-shatter-resistant canola.
“Because of the advances in gene editing technology, it’s time for the industry to consider the ‘Productivity Trait Business’ as a natural competitor or counterpart to the ‘Crop Protection Chemical Business,’” he said.
The Cibus vision is to build a platform for every major crop to deliver crops that resist pests and diseases and enhance fertilizers by using genetics as opposed to chemicals.
The new company will focus on the five dominant global crops: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice and canola; that are planted on 500 million acres in North America, South America and the European Union.
“The first canola product is for pod shatter reduction,” he said.
Cibus has received germplasm from 10 seed company customers for its patented pod shatter trait.
It will begin transfer to our customers in North America this year with the expectation of commercial launch in 2025 of our first “Powered by Cibus” traits, he said.
In addition, this year we are preparing to transfer two different herbicide resistance traits in rice in the elite germplasm of a leading North American rice seed company for commercialization,” he said.
