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News Release
MYCOGEN WINS Bt PATENT INFRINGEMENT SUIT; JURY DECLARES MONSANTO PATENT INVALID
6/30/1998 WILMINGTON, Del. - A Federal District Court jury ruled today that a patent held by Monsanto Company that covers technology for modifying Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to make plants insect-resistant is invalid.
The verdict followed a two-week patent infringement trial in which Monsanto had sought damages from Mycogen Corporation and Novartis. Monsanto claimed that Mycogen's NatureGard® corn seed and similar seed products marketed by Novartis Seeds contain a modified (Bt) gene sequence that is covered by Monsanto's patent.
Carl Eibl, Mycogen's president, said that the verdict is an important step toward clarifying the complex patent landscape relating to Bt-based insect-resistance in plants.
"Mycogen holds more than 60 patents that cover Bt proteins and technology for modifying Bt genes to optimize expression of insect control proteins in plants," Eibl said. "We believe that our scientists' pioneering work in this area ultimately will give Mycogen a very strong proprietary position for Bt-based insect-resistance in plants."
Mycogen introduced NatureGard hybrid seed corn with Bt-based resistance to European corn borer for planting in the U.S. in 1996. Ciba Seeds (now Novartis Seeds), which holds a license from Mycogen, introduced a similar product under the trade name, Maximizer;�, at the same time.
This verdict follows Mycogen's successful, March 1998, suit against Monsanto for breach of a Bt-related license agreement. In that suit, a California jury awarded Mycogen damages of $174.9 million as a result of Monsanto's breach of contract.
Mycogen is a diversified agribusiness and biotechnology company that develops and markets seeds and value-added traits for genetically enhanced crops and provides crop protection products and services. Mycogen (Nasdaq: MYCO) is majority owned by Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW). The forward-looking statements in this document are based on projections and estimates regarding the economy and the seed and crop protection industries. Various factors could cause actual results to vary significantly from management's expectations. These include the impact of weather on production and sales, actions by competitors and regulatory agencies, intellectual property positions, commodity prices, fluctuations in crop acreage and the effectiveness of internal expense controls.
For more information about Mycogen, please call 1-888-SEE-MYCO (1-888-733-6926) or visit Mycogen's website at www.mycogen.com.
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