Koch Biological Solutions, Plant Response Biotech Form Joint Venture
November 26, 2019 Plant Response Biotech and Koch Biological Solutions, LLC have combined operations to form Plant Response Biotech, Inc. The new venture will leverage both companies’ complementary capabilities, assets, and product offerings.
Plant Response Biotech is a plant biotechnology company specializing in plant innate immunity, plant physiology, and nutrient use efficiency. It has developed several product candidates which are approaching commercial launch status in the areas of drought tolerance and plant health.
Koch Biological Solutions focuses on developing science-based, live microbial and biologically derived chemistries that improve plant performance at every stage of growth. Through various modes of action, their biological solutions perform directly on the plant or its environment to improve crop efficiency and nutrient uptake, maximizing yield potential.
Tom Warner, chairman of the board for the new Plant Response Biotech, said both entities recognized the opportunity to combine their core capabilities.
“These companies are naturally complementary, and it made tremendous sense to bring the two together and create real synergy,” Warner said. “For example, both companies’ screening and validation platforms are complementary, with the ability to define mode of action and identify the resulting cellular response.”
He added Plant Response Biotech has a commercial team focused solely on biologicals, which will help advance Koch Biological Solutions’ product pipeline.
“Plant Response Biotech, being a Spanish company, has a strong presence in Europe, and Koch Biological Solutions is well established in the U.S. Together, this new company has global potential,” Warner explained.
Justin Hoppas, executive vice president for Koch Agronomic Services, said the formation of the new company supports Koch’s commitment to create value for customers and meet their evolving needs.
“We are pleased to combine our world-class R&D capability into a new entity with focused commercial capabilities and a globally recognized investor group,” he said.
Tom Snipes, chief executive officer of Plant Response Biotech, said, “We are excited to offer the marketplace 12 science-based products designed to mitigate abiotic stress, provide intrinsic yield improvement, enhance plant innate immunity and increase nutrient use efficiency.”
Snipes said the new company will be headquartered in Raleigh, NC, and will have multi-site operations with R&D in Hayward, Calif., as well as EMEA R&D and commercial operations headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
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