AgraQuest, Inc. and Bayer CropScience AG Sign Supply Agreement

Published: Dec 10, 2009

DAVIS, CA and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - December 09, 2009) -

Highlighted Links

http://www.agraquest.com

AgraQuest Inc. and Bayer CropScience LP announced today that they have agreed to terms for a supply agreement that will have AgraQuest produce and package products for the new Natria™ product line from Bayer Advanced™, the U.S. consumer products business of Bayer CropScience. Under the terms of the agreement, AgraQuest technology based on its proprietary strain of Bacillus subtilis (QST 713) will be used in two Natria™ products for the home and garden marketplace. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

AgraQuest's naturally derived Bacillus subtilis QST 713 is the same active ingredient that has been used by commercial farmers and growers for nearly a decade to treat fruits and vegetables for common bacterial and fungal diseases.

"The technology and expertise of AgraQuest are a great fit for our new Natria™ line," said Jacqueline Applegate, Vice President of Consumer Products North America and Head of Bayer Advanced.

The two products, Natria™ Disease Control in a 24-ounce ready-to-use bottle and a 28-ounce ready-to-spray, hose-end bottle, will be available at national mass merchant chains and independent retailers for the 2010 season.

"We are very excited about our collaboration with Bayer; we believe that this is an ideal avenue to expand our footprint in the home and garden marketplace," said Mike Miille, President and COO for AgraQuest and head of AgraQuest's BioInnovations Division. "Collaborating with Bayer allows us to more effectively serve mass merchandisers that had previously been outside our distribution focus of independent garden centers and nurseries."

About Bayer CropScience

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6.4 billion (2008), is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of more than 18,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.newsroom.bayercropscience.com. Bayer(reg'd), the Bayer Cross (reg'd), Natria™ and Bayer Advanced™ are trademarks of Bayer.

About AgraQuest, Inc.

AgraQuest is a biotechnology company that focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and marketing highly effective pest management products for agricultural, institutional and home markets. As a leader in the emerging low chem sector, AgraQuest works to provide growers with solutions that offer best in class control while reducing the chemical load on the environment. The Agrochemical division of AgraQuest offers a global portfolio of products -- recognized as safer to beneficials, workers, and the environment -- that includes SERENADE®, SERENADE® Garden, RHAPSODY®, SONATA® and BALLAD® fungicides and BARITONE® and REQUIEM® insecticides. AgraQuest's BioInnovations division provides the company an avenue to take biological and low-chemical technology created for the agriculture industry and discover innovative uses for it in related markets. The BioInnovations division identifies both appropriate market segments and opportunities for AgraQuest's intellectual property, while seeking industry leaders in ancillary markets to partner in the commercialization and distribution process. AgraQuest has received several environmental awards including the Presidential Green Chemistry Award from the U.S. EPA for the discovery and commercialization of SERENADE. For more information visit www.agraquest.com.