Pairwise Licenses Fulcrum® CRISPR Platform to Ball® Horticultural Company

Global agricultural innovator Pairwise has announced a landmark licensing agreement with Ball Horticultural Company to apply its Fulcrum® CRISPR genome editing platform to the ornamental plant market. This partnership marks the first time the Fulcrum® technology will be utilized outside of food and staple crops, granting Ball access to precision breeding tools for more than 40 ornamental species, including roses, petunias, and hydrangeas.

Under the agreement, Ball Horticultural Company will incorporate Pairwise's proprietary enzymes and trait libraries into its research and development pipeline across six continents. The deal includes a commercial option that allows Ball to bring edited ornamental varieties to market, bypassing the lengthy timelines of traditional breeding. Key targets for the collaboration include increasing climate resilience and extending flowering times for popular garden staples like impatiens, begonias, and dianthus. This move signifies a major shift in the horticulture industry, applying the same high-tech genetic precision used in row crops to the aesthetics of home gardening.

The collaboration leverages Pairwise's Fulcrum® platform, which is designed to unlock a plant's inherent potential by making precise genetic changes without the introduction of foreign DNA. Dr. Tom Adams, CEO of Pairwise, noted that the agreement proves the platform's versatility across diverse plant systems, from nutritious produce to decorative flora. As the ornamental industry faces mounting pressure from changing climates and resource scarcity, the adoption of CRISPR technology is expected to provide growers with more robust, water-efficient, and disease-resistant plants, ultimately coloring the world with more durable and beautiful varieties.

For more details, read the news release from Pairwise.