Metabolon and Syngenta Sign Expanded Research AgreementSyngenta Gains Access to Leading Biochemical Profiling TechnologyRESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (September 30, 2008) – Metabolon, Inc., the leader in metabolomics-driven biomarker discovery and analysis, announced today an expanded, multi-year agreement with Syngenta, a leading global agribusiness. Through this agreement, Syngenta will have access to Metabolon's biochemical profiling technology for use in agricultural applications. Metabolon has extensive experience in profiling the biochemistry of plants and how certain crop traits present themselves at the cellular level. With data generated by Metabolon, Syngenta investigators will be able to make informed decisions on crop traits much sooner in the development cycle. "We are excited to expand our partnership with Syngenta, a leading seed biotechnology company," said John Ryals, Ph.D., president and chief executive of Metabolon. "This agreement brings Syngenta into our growing stable of commercial partners in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and consumer product sectors and we look forward to providing further actionable insight with our global biochemical analysis." This agreement expands upon initial studies performed by Metabolon for Syngenta to test the application of the technology. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. "Biochemical profiling, or metabolomics, is an important part of agricultural biotechnology," said Roger Kemble, Syngenta head, Crop Genetics Research. "Metabolon's technology provides us critical insights to the performance of our products, which will aid development of new offerings for our grower customers." About MetabolonMetabolon is a diagnostics and services company offering the industry's leading biochemical profiling platform. Metabolon's patented platform provides a global analysis of complex biological samples for the discovery of markers and pathways associated with drug action and disease. This metabolomics-driven approach enables the identification of biomarkers useful for the development of a wide range of diagnostics and provides insight into complex biochemical processes such as drug action, toxicology and bioprocess optimization. For more information about Metabolon, please visit www.metabolon.com. |