Enko Opens New Headquarters and Research Facilities in Mystic, Connecticut

MYSTIC, Conn., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Enko, the crop health company, today announced the opening of their new headquarters and research facilities in Mystic, Connecticut. The move significantly expands the company's capabilities to design safe and sustainable solutions for farmers' most urgent crop threats, from pest resistance to new diseases.

Built in 1992 for Dekalb Genetics Corporation, the facility has served as an outpost for major agriculture companies, including Monsanto and later Bayer, and a site for conducting industry-defining research and development over the last three decades. Enko will now usher in a new era for this campus and apply healthcare's novel drug discovery technologies to plants. Enko's target-based approach designs molecules that bind only to select enzymes found in specific pests, eliminating these threats without harming humans or the environment. The 33,000-square feet of new greenhouse space will allow for more rapid pre-field experimentation ahead of 2021 field trials as Enko forges ahead on its current pipeline of crop health solutions for over 30 targets. 

This new stage of growth for Enko is accompanied by a fresh $2.2 million investment from Connecticut Innovations, the state's leading financier of innovative, growing companies. The company also raised a $45 million Series B funding round in 2020, bringing total investment to date to $68.2 million.

"Crop health needs are more pressing than ever, but innovation in the agriculture industry has stalled," said Jacqueline Heard, CEO of Enko. "We're thrilled to move our talented team to this advanced facility and continue the important work of developing selective, sustainable solutions for farmers. The space will help us press our growing resources further and harvest new discoveries to advance a more sustainable age of agriculture."

Centrally located in Connecticut, Mystic is an emerging technology hub in the New England area, attracting talent from Boston and Rhode Island to the north, and New York City to the south. The area has a rich academic ecosystem and a strong pedigree for biological and agricultural research.

To keep scaling their success, Enko is hiring for a range of open positions.

About Enko

Enko designs safe and sustainable solutions to farmers' most urgent crop threats, from pest resistance to new diseases. By applying healthcare's drug discovery approach to plants, Enko is bringing an innovation model to agriculture and meeting farmers' evolving needs. Founded in 2017 and led by a team of proven scientists, entrepreneurs and agriculture industry veterans, Enko is backed by investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Anterra Capital, Finistere Ventures, Novalis LifeSciences, Germin8 Ventures, TO Ventures Food, and Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund. Enko is headquartered in Mystic, Connecticut. For more information, visit enkochem.com.

Contact: Kit McDonnell, [email protected]

SOURCE Enko

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