REHOVOT, Israel, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AgPlenus Ltd., a global leader in designing and developing novel sustainable crop protection products and a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), announces today that it has achieved a milestone in the collaboration with Corteva Agriscience (NYSE: CTVA), a leading pure-play agriculture company, for the development of novel herbicides. The milestone marks the successful identification of a new family of molecules exhibiting herbicidal effect through a novel Mode of Action (MoA), APCO-12, discovered by AgPlenus.

Herbicide market is estimated at $42.81 billion in 2024[1]. Most commercially available herbicides are based on small molecules that inhibit target proteins (MoAs) in weeds, leading to weed mortality. In recent years the global agricultural industry has faced a growing challenge of weed resistance to existing herbicides, created in part by a limited number of new MoAs for weed control in the last three decades.

The collaboration, commencing in 2020, aims to develop a new MoA herbicide by merging Corteva's leadership in product discovery with AgPlenus's computational technology platform. Today, AgPlenus announced that, together with Corteva, they have identified a new potential class of herbicidal molecules through a novel MoA APCO-12.

In the next phase, the collaboration will focus on optimizing the identified class of molecules towards a commercial-level product, utilizing AgPlenus' cutting-edge computational technology, powered by Evogene's ChemPass AI tech engine and Corteva's industry-leading R&D capabilities.

Vid Hegde, VP of Crop Protection Discovery and Development at Corteva, said "Farmers are in dire need of new technologies to address weed resistance challenges. The collaboration with AgPlenus has accelerated the identification of a class of herbicide chemistry that targets a new mode-of-action for weed control, something the industry has been lacking for decades."

Dr. Dan Gelvan, CEO of AgPlenus, said "we are excited about the milestone achieved in our collaboration with Corteva Agriscience, which reflects the synergy established between the teams. Our commitment to advancing sustainable agriculture remains steadfast, and we look forward to delivering innovative herbicide solutions to farmers worldwide."

About AgPlenus Ltd.

AgPlenus is a technological platform company for innovative discovery of sustainable crop protection products to ensure food security for a fast-expanding global population. AgPlenus directs and accelerates the development of target-based novel crop protection products, utilizing a revolutionary tech-engine, based on AI combined with a deep understanding of biology and chemistry. By employing our target-based approach AgPlenus is able to minimize risks and enhance effectiveness, fulfilling its commitment to ensuring food security by overcoming global pesticide resistance, a factor directly impacting drop yield.

For more information, please visit www.agplenus.com

About Evogene Ltd.:

Evogene (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN) is a computational biology company aiming to revolutionize the development of life-science-based products by utilizing cutting-edge technologies to increase the probability of success while reducing development time and cost. Evogene established three unique tech-engines – MicroBoost AI, ChemPass AI, and GeneRator AI – leveraging Big Data and Artificial Intelligence and incorporating deep multidisciplinary understanding in life sciences. Each tech-engine is focused on the discovery and development of products based on one of the following core components: microbes (MicroBoost AI), small molecules (ChemPass AI), and genetic elements (GeneRator AI).
Evogene uses its tech-engines to develop products through subsidiaries and strategic partnerships. Evogene's subsidiaries currently utilize the tech-engines to develop human microbiome-based therapeutics by Biomica, ag-biologicals by Lavie Bio, ag-chemicals by AgPlenus, medical cannabis products by Canonic and castor varieties, for the biofuel and other industries, by Casterra.

For more information, please visit www.evogene.com

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to future events. These statements may be identified by words such as "will", "may", "could", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "scheduled", "estimates", "demonstrates", or words of similar meaning. For example, Evogene and AgPlenus are using forward-looking statements in this press release when they discuss AgPlenus and Corteva's ability to develop a new MoA herbicide and their success in optimizing the identified molecules towards a commercial-level product. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions, describe opinions about future events, and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, actual future results, performance, or achievements of Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, the current war between Israel and Hamas and any worsening of the situation in Israel such as further mobilizations or escalation in the northern border of Israel and those risk factors contained in Evogene's reports filed with applicable securities authorities. Evogene and its subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. 

Contact
Rachel Pomerantz Gerber
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