American Cyanamid and Hyseq, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, have entered into a multi- year agreement to discover genes and develop new gene products.
"We believe this agreement with Hyseq allows us to take a quantum leap forward in genomics and bioinformation research and development," says Mark Atwood, president of Cyanamid's global agricultural products research division. "Hyseq's proprietary technologies and know-how strengthen our genomics capability."
Biotech Planting Plans Haven't Changed Much
Under the agreement, Hyseq will receive $60 million in revenues over a 3.5-year period and future royalty payments for products originating from the collaboration. F
The controversy over genetically modified (GM) crops has had little impact on farmers' planting intentions, a recent survey revealed.
The survey of 2,000 farmers, conducted by Marketing Horizons and funded by
Monsanto, showed that grower intentions to plant biotech crops were on track with intentions at the same time in 1999.
"Until the seeds are in the ground, it's hard to speculate what the market might look like," says Brett Begemann, Monsanto's vice president, U.S. markets. "But we are already seeing solid evidence ... that the biotech growth trend will continue." In another survey, 97% of farmers who planted Roundup Ready soybeans last year were satisfied with the results, says Begemann. Also, 92% of those who planted Roundup Ready corn or cotton, 83% of those who grew YieldGard Bt corn, and 79% who grew Bollgard Bt cotton, were satisfied.
