Newswise — Today, Wexford Science + Technology LLC, a BioMed Realty Company, announced that Evogene (NYSE:EVGN) (TASE:EVGN), a plant genomics company based in Israel, is establishing its U.S. headquarters in the Bio Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park on the campus of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
“We are very pleased with the continued success in attracting global companies to BRDG Park at the Danforth Center. Evogene is a great addition to the growing plant and ag science ecosystem that is driving research, discovery, innovation and entrepreneurism in the St. Louis region,” said Jim Berens, president, Wexford Science +Technology.
Evogene, a leading company for the improvement of crop productivity, works with the world's leading agriculture companies to develop improved seed traits in crops like corn, soybean, wheat and rice, and is also focused on the research and development of new products for crop protection.
“We are very proud to welcome Evogene into our growing community of global plant science companies," said Sam Fiorello, president of BRDG Park. "Evogene’s leadership role in using advanced plant genomic knowhow coupled with their best-in-class computational capabilities have allowed them to offer their partners a way to produce more food and feed in a sustainable manner. Whether by helping a plant unlock its capacity to protect itself from insects, or finding ways to develop draught tolerant traits, the outcome of Evogene’s work is to enable an ever growing population to better provide for itself without depleting the earth’s precious natural resources.”
Specifically, Evogene plans to locate part of their Insect Control discovery team at BRDG Park. Targeted research at BRDG Park will be aimed at developing resistance traits to protect crops from a variety of insects while decreasing the need for pesticides.
The approximately 6,000 square foot facility will feature state-of-the-art laboratories and insect rearing rooms and is projected to be fully operational by the end of 2015. It will support Evogene's growing insect control activities, initially focusing on the Company's on-going product programs for corn rootworm and soybean aphids.
"The establishment of this new facility will clearly take Evogene to a new level in the important area of insect control. We are very proud to join BRDG Park and the innovative community in St. Louis. Being a company that is committed to the improvement of crop productivity, we share the Danforth Center’s belief that plants hold the key to discoveries and products that will enrich and restore both the environment and the lives of people around the globe," said Ofer Haviv, president and CEO of Evogene.
The team from BRDG Park worked in cooperation with the Danforth Center, the State of Missouri, Regional Chamber and BioSTL’s St. Louis-Israel Innovation Connection (SLIIC) to recruit Evogene to the area. In support of its selection of St. Louis for its R&D facility, Evogene was given a strategic economic incentive package from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
“Home to the largest concentration of plant scientists in the world and the second most farms in the nation, Missouri continues to attract more and more bioscience companies and researchers that work to improve and protect our food,” said Governor Jay Nixon. “I welcome Evogene to the Show-Me State and look forward to building on Missouri’s reputation as a bioscience powerhouse.”
“The recruitment of Evogene to St. Louis is yet another fantastic example of our region’s ability to attract promising, young Israeli companies,” said St. Louis Regional Chamber President & CEO Joe Reagan. “BRDG Park, on the campus of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, has truly put St. Louis on the world stage as the center of innovation for the bioscience industry. The Regional Chamber was pleased to be a part of BioSTL’s St. Louis-Israeli Innovation Connection delegation that met with Evogene executives in Israel earlier this year. By leveraging our collective strengths, we’re seeing a flourishing bioscience industry here in St. Louis.”
About Evogene Ltd.:Evogene (NYSE:EVGN) (TASE:EVGN) is a leading company for the improvement of crop productivity and economics for the food, feed and biofuel industries. The Company has strategic collaborations with world-leading agricultural companies to develop improved seed traits in relation to yield and a-biotic stress (such as tolerance to drought), and biotic stress (such as resistance to disease and nematodes), in key crops as corn, soybean, wheat and rice, and is also focused on the research and development of new products for crop protection (such as weed control). In addition, the Company has a wholly owned subsidiary, Evofuel, developing seeds for second-generation feedstock for biodiesel. For more information, please visit, www.evogene.com and www.evo-fuel.com.
About BRDG Park at the Danforth CenterBio Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park at the Danforth Plant Science Center helps life science companies bridge research, resources and relationships to achieve commercial success. In addition to providing world-class wet laboratories, office space and a prominent incubator, BRDG Park’s location on the Danforth Center’s campus facilitates access to the intellectual capital of top scientists, as well as to greenhouses, growth chambers, microscopy and proteomics facilities and other vital resources. Located in suburban St. Louis County, Missouri, BRDG Park is being developed by Wexford Science +Technology LLC, a BioMed Realty Company. More information is available at www.BRDG-Park.com.
About Wexford Science & Technology, LLC Wexford Science & Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BioMed Realty Trust Inc., is a real estate investment and development company specializing in real estate strategies and solutions for universities, academic medical centers and major research institutions. Wexford brings a unique approach of collaborating with clients to build knowledge communities, which are vibrant, mixed-use, amenity-rich environments built on a foundation of discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurial activities. Wexford is developing twelve Knowledge Communities across the U.S: the Bio-Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis; Cortex Innovation Community in St Louis, MO; Hershey Center for Applied Research in Hershey, PA; Innovation Research Park @ ODU in Norfolk, VA; University City Science Center in Philadelphia; University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore; University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park in Miami; University Technology Park at IIT in Chicago; Wake Forest Innovation Quarter in Winston-Salem, NC,; The Chesterfield in Durham, NC; a Jewelry District project with Brown University and the University of Rhode island in Providence, RI; and a medical district project with Yale University in New Haven, CT. For more information please visit, www.wexfordscitech.com
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