Biotech Updates

Court Upholds DuPont Ownership of Soybean Marker Technology

March 23, 2007

DuPont recently announced that its subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. has successfully concluded its patent infringement dispute with Genome and Agricultural Biotechnology (GAAB), LLC over in-plant protection against fiends of soybean in North America. The patents are for the process that uses molecular markers to select soybean varieties resistant to soybean cyst nematode (SCN).

Pioneer has developed high-yielding SCN-resistant varieties in its product lineup through the use of molecular markers. Pioneer has held intellectual property rights for its soybean markers and for its marker-assisted selection process to select soybean varieties with brown stem rot resistance and other valuable traits. "We have invested a great deal in using molecular markers to increase the defensive package of soybeans," said Dennis Byron, Pioneer vice president, Crop Product Development. "We are pleased the court upheld our right to recoup that investment and fund future development."

 Access the press release at http://www.pioneer.com/web/site/portal/menuitem.3a0d043101b669b42f9d33f5d10093a0/.