DAVIS, Calif., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Intrexon Corporation (NASDAQ: XON), a leader in the engineering and industrialization of biology to improve the quality of life and health of the planet, today announced it is advancing GreenVenus^™ Romaine lettuce to commercial trials. Initial data under commercial indoor production conditions indicate that GreenVenus^™ has improved shelf-life up to 2 weeks and a potential for higher marketable yield with no tip burn.  In addition, GreenVenus^™ non-browning lettuce has been assessed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and determined not to be subject to regulation under 7CFR Part 340 for plants altered or produced through genetic engineering.  

"We are focused on developing new approaches in precision genetics to enable more sustainable food production as well as reduce food loss and waste," said Sekhar Boddupalli, PhD, President of Intrexon's Ag Biotech Division. "We are pleased to rapidly advance our GreenVenus^™ lettuce with improved marketable yield and shelf-life from concept to commercial trials within 2 years. The USDA's transparent, risk-based decision helps clarify the path to market for our GreenVenus^™ (non-transgenic) lettuce and greatly facilitates our efforts to expand our precision genetics platform to other vegetables." 

"We look forward to continuing our work with our collaborators and value chain partners as we advance this exciting product toward commercialization," added Thomas P. Bostick, PhD, PE, NAE, Chief Operating Officer and President, Intrexon Bioengineering.

The retail value of leafy greens is estimated at $10B annually in the US.  Further, it is estimated that ~$3.3B worth of lettuce is lost due to waste each year, half of which is the Romaine type. Non-browning lettuce can allow for more flexibility in production, processing, shipping and storage to help reduce the waste of healthy, nutritious food. As the Company looks to advance this product in development toward commercialization, standard food and environmental safety considerations still will apply to this product prior to introduction.

About Intrexon Corporation
Intrexon Corporation (NASDAQ: XON) is Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA^™ to create biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and the health of the planet through two operating units – Intrexon Health and Intrexon Bioengineering.  Intrexon Health is focused on addressing unmet medical needs through a diverse spectrum of therapeutic modalities, including gene and cell therapies, microbial bioproduction, and regenerative medicine.  Intrexon Bioengineering seeks to address global challenges across food, agriculture, environmental, and industrial fields by advancing biologically engineered solutions to improve sustainability and efficiency. Our integrated technology suite provides industrial-scale design and development of complex biological systems delivering unprecedented control, quality, function, and performance of living cells. We call our synthetic biology approach Better DNA^®, and we invite you to discover more at www.dna.com or follow us on Twitter at @Intrexon, on Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Trademarks
Intrexon, GreenVenus, Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA, and Better DNA are trademarks of Intrexon and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement
Some of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and projections about future events and generally relate to our plans, objectives and expectations for the development of our business.  Although management believes that the plans and objectives reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual future results may be materially different from the plans, objectives and expectations expressed in this press release.

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