DAVIS, Calif. and ROSARIO,
Argentina, Aug. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Verdeca,
a joint venture between Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:
RKDA) and Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NYSE American: BIOX),
announced today it has successfully completed the regulatory review
process and received approval from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) for its
HB4® drought tolerant soybeans, which
will allow for commercialization in the U.S. market. The approval
comes two years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's
(FDA's) approval of Verdeca's HB4 trait in 2017.
The HB4 stack is Verdeca's newest product release from its
pipeline of traits developed to benefit soybean producers through
quality improvement, stress mitigation and management
practices.
"HB4 is a novel soybean trait that enhances the traditional
herbicide tolerance package to provide yield stability across
diverse environments," said Martin Mariani
Ventura, general manager of Verdeca. "Approval of this
technology in the United States is
a significant step for the successful commercialization of HB4
technology in the global soybean market."
With USDA approval, the HB4 trait now has regulatory approval in
more than 80 percent of the global soybean market. The HB4 trait
has already been approved in Argentina and Brazil, with regulatory submissions currently
under consideration by China,
Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay. Import approval from China is needed for commercial launch in
Argentina, and is now expected in
2020.
More than 30 million of the world's soybean hectares are grown
in the United States. While the
2019 growing season has challenged many U.S. soybean growers with
too much water, key soybean production areas – including some areas
within the United States – just
last year suffered reduced yields due to water and heat stress.
"Trials in Argentina have shown
a positive impact of the HB4 trait stack on soybeans there," said
Raj Ketkar, president and CEO of Arcadia Biosciences. "The USDA and
FDA approvals are important steps in our continued drive to
commercialize this trait in key markets."
"This approval in the U.S. is an important step for Verdeca. The
HB4 trait was recently approved by Brazil as well, and we now expect approval in
China in 2020 to launch our
commercial efforts in Argentina,"
said Federico Trucco, CEO of
Bioceres Crop Solutions.
Arcadia Biosciences and Bioceres Crop Solutions formed Verdeca
in 2012 to deploy next-generation soybean traits in all key
production regions, beginning in South
America and North America,
which together represent nearly 80 percent of the harvested soybean
hectares globally.
About Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.
Arcadia Biosciences (Nasdaq: RKDA) develops and markets
high-value food ingredients and nutritional oils that help meet
consumer demand for a healthier diet. Arcadia's GoodWheat™ branded ingredients
deliver health benefits to consumers and enable consumer packaged
goods companies to differentiate their brands in the marketplace.
The company's portfolio of agricultural traits are being developed
to enable farmers around the world to be more productive and
minimize the impact of agriculture on the environment. Arcadia
Specialty Genomics is a business unit within Arcadia Biosciences
dedicated to the optimization and standardization of cannabis plant
content, quality, resiliency and yield. For more information, visit
www.arcadiabio.com/.
About Bioceres Crop Solutions
Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NYSE American: BIOX) is a
fully-integrated provider of crop productivity solutions, including
seeds, seed traits, seed treatments, biologicals, high-value
adjuvants and fertilizers. We have developed a multi-discipline and
multi-product platform capable of providing solutions throughout
the entire crop cycle, from pre-planting to transportation and
storage. Our platform is designed to cost-effectively bring
high-value technologies to market through an open-architecture
approach. For more information visit
https://biocerescrops.com/.
About Verdeca
Verdeca, a U.S.-based joint venture between Bioceres and Arcadia
Biosciences, develops and deregulates soybean varieties with
next-generation agricultural technologies. Working in
partnership with South American growers, Verdeca aims to provide
technologies that help increase crop productivity, making more
efficient and sustainable use of land and water resources. For more
information visit www.verdeca.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported
results should not be considered as an indication of future
performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to: Arcadia's and its
partners' and affiliates' ability to develop commercial products
incorporating their traits, and complete the regulatory review
process for such products; Arcadia's compliance with laws and regulations
that impact Arcadia's business,
and changes to such laws and regulations; Arcadia's future capital requirements and
ability to satisfy its capital needs; and the other risks set forth
in Arcadia's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the
risks set forth in Arcadia's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and other filings. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and
Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
|
Arcadia
Biosciences
|
Bioceres Crop
Solutions Corp
|
|
Sara
Geisner
|
Maximo
Goya
|
|
+1-314-401-6846
|
+54-341-4861100
|
|
sara@trailblaze.co
|
maximo.goya@biocerescrops.com
|
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SOURCE Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.