Calyxt And S&W’s Gene-Edited Alfalfa Plant Designated As Non-Regulated By USDA

Improved Quality Alfalfa Product Candidate Represents Sixth Product from Calyxt to be confirmed as non-regulated

MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL, Minn. & SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calyxt, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLXT), a consumer-centric, food- and agriculture-focused company, and S&W Seed Company (NASDAQ:SANW), a global leader in the alfalfa seed industry, today announced that the first of its two alfalfa product candidates has been designated as a non-regulated article under “Am I Regulated?” Process by Biotechnology Regulatory Services of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency of the USDA.

“Calyxt’s innovative technology and partnership with S&W Seed Company is crucial in the development of the alfalfa pipeline. We look forward to our continued partnership with S&W as we advance this product candidate to the market.”

With this notification by the USDA, the improved quality alfalfa is the sixth Calyxt product candidate, developed using Calyxt’s proprietary gene editing technology TALEN^®, to be confirmed as a non-regulated article by the USDA including its high oleic soybean, high oleic / low linolenic soybean, powdery mildew resistant wheat, cold storable potato and reduced browning potato.

“The accomplishment represents another milestone for Calyxt in our efforts to develop and commercialize innovative agriculturally advantageous traits for the food and agriculture industries,” said Federico Tripodi, CEO of Calyxt. “Calyxt’s innovative technology and partnership with S&W Seed Company is crucial in the development of the alfalfa pipeline. We look forward to our continued partnership with S&W as we advance this product candidate to the market.”

Mark Wong, CEO of S&W Seed Company, commented, “S&W is proud to be on the leading edge of new breeding technologies with this collaboration with Calyxt. We are excited to commercialize this leading-edge technology, with this being just the first in a pipeline of products for the alfalfa seed market.”

The improved quality alfalfa product is the first ever alfalfa product to receive the non-regulated distinction from the USDA. The collaboration between Calyxt and S&W Seed Company is focused on providing enhanced traits in alfalfa seed varieties that can drive improved productivity, while decreasing input costs to meet the growing global demand for higher quality alfalfa products.

About Calyxt
Calyxt, Inc. is a consumer-centric, food- and agriculture-focused company. By combining its leading gene-editing technology and technical expertise with its innovative commercial strategy, Calyxt is pioneering a paradigm shift to deliver healthier food ingredients, such as healthier oils and high fiber wheat, for consumers and agriculturally advantageous crop traits, such as herbicide tolerance, for farmers. Calyxt is located in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, and is listed on the Nasdaq market (ticker: CLXT).

For further information please visit our website: www.calyxt.com
Calyxt™ and the corporate logo are trademarks owned by Calyxt, Inc.
TALEN^® is a registered trademark owned by the Cellectis Group.

About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global agricultural Company, headquartered in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The Company’s vision is to be the world’s preferred proprietary seed Company which supplies a range of forage and specialty crop products that supports the growing global demand for animal proteins and healthier consumer diets. The Company is a global leader in alfalfa seed, with significant research and development, production and distribution capabilities. S&W’s capabilities span the world’s alfalfa seed production regions, with operations in the Western United States, including the San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys of California, Australia, and Canada, and S&W sells its seed products in more than 30 countries around the globe. The Company also provides hybrid sorghum and sunflower, and is utilizing its research and breeding expertise to develop and produce stevia, the all-natural, zero calorie sweetener for the food and beverage industry. For more information, please visit www.swseedco.com.

Calyxt Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue,” the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed under the caption entitled “Risk Factors” in our registration statement on Form S-1, along with our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

S&W Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may,” “future,” “plan” or “planned,” “will” or “should,” “expected,” “anticipates,” “draft,” “eventually” or “projected.” Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future research and development activities, product development and sales of newly-developed products, among others. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risk that we may not achieve our expected results, risks associated with our distributors’ abilities to effectively distribute and market our products, risks associated with our ability to successfully commercialize, optimize and diversify our business, and risks related to factors beyond our control that may impact market prices or demand for our products. These and other risks are identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 and in our other filings subsequent made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.