Successful purchase of trait platform with extensive product pipeline: Purchase price of USD 365 million plus milestones

The acquisition of Athenix and its innovative technology platform significantly boosts Bayer CropScience´s ability to make available to growers worldwide novel technology and complete agricultural solutions. Athenix has an extensive herbicide tolerance and insect control trait development platform. The company has the largest collection of Bt genes in the industry – genes that are crucial for insect resistance of plants. Athenix is working on nematode resistance as well, a field where current chemical options are limited. Additionally, the company has a valuable collection of proprietary microbes that will provide a long-term source of novel and commercially important genes for future trait development.

Bayer CropScience is currently already pursuing a total of 56 BioScience research projects involving six crops. The acquisition bolsters this research and development (R&D)-pipeline and the trait platform of Bayer CropScience. Athenix complements the fast growing BioScience business of Bayer CropScience by significantly extending its R&D-presence in North America. Athenix employs some of the world’s leading researchers in the agricultural biotech industry and has a workforce of about 65 employees who have extensive expertise in commercial gene discovery, commercial trait generation, and product development.

The acquisition will allow Bayer CropScience to strengthen its attractiveness as a partner to other stakeholders in the seed business worldwide. It will generate additional trait fee income beyond the income streams from Bayer CropScience`s current trait technology due to license agreements with major agricultural companies. Bayer CropScience already expects the combined sales potential of its four most important licensing agreements, which will bear fruit in the coming years, to exceed EUR 500 million – and Athenix will add further to this revenue stream from the middle of next decade.

“We are investing heavily in our BioScience business to strengthen our position in the global seeds and traits market”, said Professor Friedrich Berschauer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience. “Within the last year, we have announced business expansions involving three new state-of-the-art research and development facilities in the United States and Canada. Athenix is a leading independent plant biotechnology company. The acquisition of Athenix therefore underpins this expansion, and allows Bayer CropScience to further expand its strong research and development capacity in North America, the most important seed technology market of the world.”

“We are pleased to become part of Bayer CropScience, a global agribusiness leader that is fundamentally driven by the spirit and practice of innovation. The combined talents and capabilities of Bayer CropScience and Athenix will serve to accelerate the market introduction of highly innovative new products for farmers worldwide that will directly address the global demand for superior agricultural productivity,” said Mike Koziel, Chief Executive Officer for Athenix.

“We are pleased to celebrate success in reaching another milestone with our valued partner, Merck,” said Yves Ribeill, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of SCYNEXIS. “This milestone provides further validation of our long-term relationship with Merck in a number of therapeutic areas through discovery research and innovation.”

About SCYNEXIS
SCYNEXIS is a premier drug discovery and development company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. SCYNEXIS’ mission is to be the leader in delivering effective and innovative drug pipeline solutions to its pharmaceutical partners.

SCYNEXIS research teams integrate medicinal chemistry, advanced biological screening, computational chemistry, bioanalysis and analytical chemistry and use powerful, proprietary technologies such as the HEOS® Software Suite and MEDCHEM-FACTORY® to advance molecules to candidate selection. SCYNEXIS development teams have been tailored to be especially effective in moving customer projects from the discovery phase to the clinic. SCYNEXIS process chemistry and bioanalytical departments operate under current GMP/GLP guidelines and have a strong track record of success. SCYNEXIS is registered with both the FDA and DEA. www.scynexis.com