Dow Agro Announces Global Collaborations
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences has made two global announcements. The first involves a plant science technology agreement with a Scottish startup. The company has also launched a food security initiative that includes partnering with African organizations and the Indianapolis Hunger Network. October 3, 2013
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS & EDINBURGH, Scotland – Synpromics, the synthetic promoter company, announces an important collaboration with Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), to develop Synpromics' proprietary technology for application in plant science. An initial proof of concept project with Dow AgroSciences has commenced to demonstrate the application of Synpromics' synthetic promoter technology in certain crops.
David Lawrence, Chairman of Synpromics, commented, “This is an important deal for the company that validates the potential value to industry of our proprietary technology. For a start-up such as Synpromics to establish this collaboration with a leading multinational is an exceptional achievement. It is also notable that this is the first time that Dow AgroSciences has partnered with a company in Scotland. Attracting the attention of Dow AgroSciences and other partners with whom we are in dialogue augurs well for the future of the company. Therefore I am extremely proud of our team. I would also like to thank Scottish Enterprise for making the initial introductions to Dow AgroSciences as well as their support during the company's start-up phase.”
“Technologies such as those developed by Synpromics can significantly enhance Dow AgroSciences' tool kit for developing improved crops,” said Daniel R. Kittle, Ph.D., Vice President, Research & Development, Dow AgroSciences. “Synthetic promoters in the agricultural industry have significant potential to accelerate the gene discovery and product development of new traits.”
Dr. Michael L. Roberts, CEO and Founder of Synpromics, added, “I believe that we have an important technology that can make a large contribution across both plant and human life science. We have a number of partnerships underway now and the company has been able to attract support from the Technology Strategy Board as well as gaining a SMART award from Scottish Enterprise. Our current product development projects are progressing well so I believe the company is well placed to grow quickly. To have Dow AgroSciences on board is very exciting and we look forward to working with them.”
About Synpromics
Synpromics, based in Edinburgh, UK, is a privately funded synthetic biology company that has developed a proprietary technology to optimise the design of synthetic promoters. This allows improved control of gene expression in any cell or condition of interest. The synthetic promoters produced by Synpromics will have applications in agricultural biology, life science R&D, biologics production, novel diagnostics, gene therapy and animal health. For more information visit www.synpromics.com.
About Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, develops leading-edge crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions to meet the challenges of the growing world. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of $6.4 billion in 2012. Learn more at www.dowagro.com. Follow Dow AgroSciences on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.
October 3, 2013
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Today, 925 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat to sustain themselves. One in five people in Greater Indianapolis are hungry and 50 percent of those hungry are children. This is why Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences has launched an employee-led food security initiative in collaboration with Indianapolis Hunger Network and international organizations. This initiative aims to develop sustainable solutions, leveraging Dow AgroSciences employees' deep knowledge and experience in agriculture, to create innovative practical solutions to hunger.
Working with some of the leading food security, agricultural and education organizations, the objectives of the Dow AgroSciences food security initiative include:
-Collaborating with leading organizations to help the hungry in Indianapolis access the nutritious food they need;
-Initiating collaborative food security and agronomics education projects with key partners in Africa;
-Enhancing Dow AgroSciences' impact on cassava improvement (cassava is the staple daily diet for more than 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, and has been threatened by disease);
-Supporting key organizations to increase the impact of their existing food security programs; and
-Increasing public awareness and understanding of the realities of food insecurity.
“We are committed to serving the needs of the growing world,” said Gordon Slack, Dow AgroSciences Global Leader, Finance and Public Affairs. “Our people are passionate about finding innovative ways to solve some of the world’s most complex problems. Our global food security initiative is just one way we are demonstrating our commitment to those in need and living out our brand promise: Working together to deliver on the promise of agriculture.”
During a year-long planning process, Dow AgroSciences and collaborating organizations developed a comprehensive strategy that leverages proven food security programs and creates new programs to serve the hungry and help farmers in developing countries effectively implement sustainable agricultural practices.
The Dow AgroSciences food security initiative will initially address the needs of the hungry in two geographies – Greater Indianapolis and Kenya. The goal of the work in these geographies is to increase awareness and understanding of global food insecurity issues and their interconnectivity with modern agricultural practices. The next phase of activity will be to expand the initiatives to other geographies.
Dow AgroSciences employees will support and leverage the data-driven programming of the Indy Hunger Network to address identified root causes of food insecurity in Greater Indianapolis. The Indy Hunger Network aims by 2015 to bridge an estimated 20 million meal gap in the food supply for the hungry.
Globally, Dow AgroSciences will focus its resources on addressing food insecurity in Africa. Initially, this will be accomplished in Kenya, in part, through a collaborative agreement with AMPATH-Kenya. Established in 1997, AMPATH is a collaboration between Kenya's Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Moi University, and a consortium of North American Universities.
AMPATH, as well as other collaborating institutions, will serve as conduits for fostering relationship-building, knowledge-sharing, and cultural understanding among farmers, agricultural educators, students and scientists. In addition, Dow AgroSciences will work to enhance education and capacity-building, local-area access to sustainable agriculture resources, on-the-ground support, employee involvement and connectivity within the global agricultural community.
“We are fortunate to have collaborating organizations that have made tremendous strides in addressing food insecurity,” said Slack. “With their help, we hope to make a difference in the lives of those suffering and create sustainable solutions for the long-term.”
Follow the progress of this initiative on Twitter at #HungerSolutions.
About Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, develops leading-edge crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions to meet the challenges of the growing world. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of $6.4 billion in 2012. Learn more at www.dowagro.com. Follow Dow AgroSciences on Facebook and YouTube or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed