Origin Agritech Entered Collaboration Agreement with Biotechnology Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences to Speed up Commercialization of GM Traits in China

BEIJING, Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Origin Agritech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SEED) (the "Company" or "Origin"), an agriculture technology and rural e-commerce company, today announced that the Company has entered into a collaboration agreement with Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI) of Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences (CAAS) to speed up the commercialization of genetically modified insect resistance and glyphosate tolerance corn traits in China. 

CAAS is a national, integrative agricultural scientific research organization in China with responsibility for carrying out both basic and applied research, as well as research into new technologies impacting agriculture. BRI of CAAS is the only public, non-profit institution focusing on the frontiers of both basic and applied research of agro-biotechnology in China. The Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the Center for Biosafety Assessment of GMOs are affiliated with BRI.

Over the years, Origin has been cooperating with CAAS in developing various GM traits, including a double stacked corn trait for insect resistance and glyphosate tolerance traits. The double stacked corn trait protects corn from both insect damage and glyphosate spray, and hence can improve crop yield significantly. This double stacked trait has passed most of the multi-phase biosafety approval processes and is in the final stage of commercialization approval for biosafety certification.

The new collaboration agreement deepens our cooperation with BRI and mainly focuses on related research for commercialization of the double stacked corn trait of insect resistance and glyphosate tolerance. Origin and BRI will join together to apply for government sponsored funds and share research facilities and capabilities, as well as the potential benefits. Both Origin and BRI will also work together to promote the commercialization of the stacked corn trait, which Origin has been developing based on the fundamental research from CAAS.

According to the "Thirteenth Five Year State Science and Technology Innovative Plan" published by the Chinese government in 2016, the Chinese government has set a target for the commercialization of corn seed GMO technologies during the central government's Thirteenth Five-Year Plan, which ends in 2020.

About Origin Agritech Limited

Origin Agritech Limited, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Zhong-Guan-Cun (ZGC) Life Science Park in Beijing, is China's leading agricultural technology and a rural social e-commerce company, expanding in mid-2018 from crop seed breeding and genetic improvement business to be a leading technology developer in new rural e-commerce platform and Blockchain technologies. In crop seed biotechnologies, Origin Agritech's phytase corn was the first transgenic corn to receive the Bio-Safety Certificate from China's Ministry of Agriculture. Over the years, Origin has established a robust biotechnology seed pipeline including products with glyphosate tolerance and pest resistance (Bt) traits. For further information, please visit the Company's website at: http://www.originseed.com.cn or http://www.originseed.com.cn/en/.

Forward-Looking Statements

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SOURCE Origin Agritech Limited