Lavie Bio Announces Successful Product Launch of its Bio-Inoculant result™ for the 2022 Spring Wheat Growing Season

Given wheat global shortages and high prices, Lavie foresees continued strong demand for its bio-inoculant result^™ and plans increased production for 2023 growing season

REHOVOT, Israel, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lavie Bio Ltd., a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd., (NASDAQ: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN) and a leading ag-biologicals company focusing on improving food quality, sustainability, and agriculture productivity through the introduction of microbiome-based products, announced today that for the 2022 growing season currently underway, Lavie Bio successfully produced and fully sold its planned production quota to U.S. customers for result^™, Lavie Bio's recently released bio-inoculant product for Spring Wheat.

Global wheat prices have increased significantly due to supply chain constraints and global shortages, which have been particularly compounded by the war between Russia and Ukraine, the world's first and fifth largest wheat exporters, respectively. According to 2020 data by Germany's Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, these two countries were responsible for 28% of global wheat exports. Current high wheat prices have made it highly economical for growers to explore ways to increase wheat production by increasing yields.

As previously reported, the development of result™ included positive four-year field trials in multiple locations and commercial validation through broad-acre fields under standard farmer practices in target locations. The results achieved in the field trials have demonstrated that result™ has the potential to contribute an additional 3-4 bushels per acre and showed increased yield improvement compared with industry benchmarks. Based on current wheat prices for farmers, this could provide growers an average of $30-40 in additional revenue per farmed acre.

Given global wheat shortages and high prices, Lavie Bio foresees continued strong demand for its bio-inoculant result™ and plans increased production for 2023 growing season.

Mr. Dotan Borenstein, Chief Business Officer of Lavie Bio, stated: "I'm very pleased to update that our first product launch in the U.S. was successful, seeing strong demand and we fully sold out of our initial production run for the 2022 growing season. We see our launch of result™, our fully sustainable bio-inoculant solution for Spring Wheat, at the perfect time, that can contribute to securing global food supplies.

Looking ahead, we are aiming to broaden result™ sales throughout North American markets, including Canada, in the near-term and later, European markets. We are also working to expand our label to include additional crops, such as small grains and oil seed."

About result^™

result^™ is a microbial-based inoculant, formulated in addition to existing seed treatment products, that improves plant roots' uptake and efficiency of nutrients from the soil, increasing yield and improving growers' profitability, while contributing to environmental sustainability and soil health. 

About Lavie Bio Ltd.:

Lavie Bio, a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), aims to improve food quality, sustainability and agriculture productivity through the introduction of microbiome-based ag-biological products. Lavie Bio utilizes a proprietary computational predictive platform, the BDD platform, harnessing the power of big data and advanced informatics, for the discovery, optimization and development of bio-stimulant and bio-pesticide products. Corteva, Inc (NYSE: CTVA) holds approximately 27% in Lavie Bio.

For more information, please visit www.lavie-bio.com.

About Evogene Ltd.:

Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN) is a computational biology company aiming to revolutionize the development of life-science based products by utilizing cutting edge technologies to increase probability of success while reducing development time and cost. Evogene established three unique technological engines - MicroBoost AI, ChemPass AI and GeneRator AI – leveraging Big Data and Artificial Intelligence and incorporating deep multidisciplinary understanding in life sciences. Each technological engine is focused on the discovery and development of products based on one of the following core components: microbes (MicroBoost AI), small molecules (ChemPass AI), and genetic elements (GeneRator AI). Evogene uses its technological engines to develop products through subsidiaries and with strategic partners. Currently, Evogene's main subsidiaries utilize the technological engines to develop human microbiome-based therapeutics by Biomica Ltd., medical cannabis products by Canonic Ltd., ag-chemicals by AgPlenus and ag-biologicals by Lavie Bio Ltd. 

For more information, please visit: www.evogene.com.

Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to future events. These statements may be identified by words such as "may", "could", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "scheduled", "estimates" or words of similar meaning. For example, Lavie Bio and Evogene are using forward-looking statements in this press release when they discuss expected demand for result^™, plans for increasing production ahead of initial plans during 2023 growing season, expected revenue and profitability improvement as a result of farmers using result^™, expansion of sales into Canada and the European markets and expansion to include additional crops. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about future events, involve certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, actual future results, performance or achievements of Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, those risk factors contained in Evogene's reports filed with the applicable securities authorities. Evogene and its subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections.

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SOURCE Lavie Bio