DuPont, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Join Forces to Boost Crop Yields, Meet Global Demand

R&D Collaboration to Bring New Choices, More Options to Global Agriculture

WILMINGTON, Del., and COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y.- DuPont and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory today announced they have entered into a multi-year research collaboration for crop genetics research on yield enhancement and development of enabling technologies in corn, soybeans and other important agricultural crops. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We’re eager to tap into the creativity of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists and put our combined innovation to work in the challenges farmers face around the world,” said William S. Niebur, vice president - DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development.

“Increasing crop yields is critical to meet growing global demands for food, feed, fuel and fiber,” Niebur said.

“The collaboration will develop technologies that accelerate the rate of yield increase, as well as traits that will bring value to farmers worldwide.”

“This collaboration will accelerate the contributions of plant biology and bioinformatics research to improve global agriculture,” said Bruce Stillman, president - Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory. “The fusion of our academic and industry research strengths will produce unique approaches to advance plant science in areas of mutual interest.”

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business and world leader in agricultural plant genetics, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), an internationally recognized leader in plant biology, have collaborated on individual projects over the past decade. This multi-project, multi-year effort will allow for a deeper sharing of information that aims to facilitate unique approaches to long-term agronomic challenges.

Several teams of researchers from both organizations will make use of extensive genomics data, trait information and germplasm resources from Pioneer in the discovery research collaboration. Pioneer also will have responsibility for bringing innovations and technologies resulting from the collaboration to the marketplace.