DuPont and Sumitomo Chemical Company Announce Global Seed-Applied Technology Agreement
December 4, 2017
DES MOINES, Iowa, and WALNUT CREEK, Calif., —DuPont and Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited announced today a global agreement to collaborate on the development, registration and commercialization of seed-applied technologies for use in key crops around the world.
DuPont and Sumitomo Chemical formed this collaboration out of a shared objective to accelerate development and commercialization of novel seed-applied technologies to improve early plant growth and yields. The global agreement leverages the strengths of both companies, combining the conventional chemical and biological pipeline from Sumitomo Chemical, with the advanced seed technology and development and commercialization capability of DuPont Crop Protection, a business unit of DowDuPont Agriculture Division.
By combining the pipeline from Sumitomo Chemical with DuPont's technology and capability, there is an opportunity to evaluate these technologies together, at much earlier stages, to understand the complementary characteristics of various product combinations. This early-stage collaboration will enhance current and future commercial products for seed-applied technologies.
"Sumitomo Chemical has made significant investments in rhizosphere technology research to enhance seed protection and maximize early plant development through chemical and biological agrosolutions," said Kimitoshi Umeda, associate officer and general manager, AgroSolutions Division-International at Sumitomo Chemical Company. "Partnering with DuPont affords the access to their advanced seed technology, and when evaluated in combination with our seed protection and enhancement solutions, will generate new opportunities to develop complementary and novel seed-applied technologies for growers around the world."
"We are excited about this collaboration with Sumitomo Chemical. The Sumitomo Chemical portfolio and pipeline will complement the investments DuPont has made in discovery, development and commercialization of seed-applied products. Partnering with Sumitomo Chemical early in the development process enables us to create higher performing seed-applied products for our customers," said Mick Messman, director, DuPont Seed Applied Technologies.
Collaborations between DuPont and Sumitomo Chemical's regional affiliate, Valent U.S.A. LLC., will focus on the North American region with potential expansion opportunities to multiple crop markets globally.
"This agreement exemplifies the power of collaboration by companies in the agriculture industry to bring growers the latest technology to improve their productivity," added Umeda. "We look forward to future collaborations with DuPont, and pursue them in the spirit of creativity and innovation on behalf of our customers."
For more information on both parties, visit www.dupont.com or www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/.
About Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited
Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Sumitomo Chemical is one of Japan's leading chemical companies, offering a diverse range of products globally in the fields of petrochemicals, energy and functional materials, IT-related chemicals and materials, health and crop science products, and pharmaceuticals. The company's consolidated net sales for fiscal year 2016 were JPY 2 trillion. For additional information, visit the company's website at www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/.
About Valent U.S.A. LLC
Valent U.S.A. LLC, headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., develops and markets products in the United States, Canada and Mexico that protect agricultural crops, enhance crop yields, improve food quality, beautify the environment and safeguard public health. Valent products include a well-known line of quality herbicide, insecticide, fungicide and crop enhancement products for agricultural, seed protection and professional use. Valent is a leader in marketing and sales of both traditional chemical products and also biorational products developed by its affiliate, Valent BioSciences LLC. For more information about Valent or our full product line, please call 800-6-VALENT (682-5368) or visit valent.com.
About DowDuPont Agriculture Division
DowDuPont Agriculture, a business division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. Together, the Agriculture Division provides growers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry, developed through a robust research pipeline across germplasm, biotech traits and crop protection. DowDuPont Agriculture is committed to delivering innovation, helping growers increase productivity and ensuring food security for a growing global population. DowDuPont intends to separate the Agriculture Division into an independent, publicly traded company. More information can be found at www.dupont.comwww.dow-dupont.com.
Cautionary Statement About Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "see," "will," "would," "target," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words.
On December 11, 2015, The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont") announced entry into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, as amended on March 31, 2017, (the "Merger Agreement") under which the companies would combine in an all-stock merger of equals transaction (the "Merger Transaction"). Effective August 31, 2017, the Merger Transaction was completed and each of Dow and DuPont became subsidiaries of DowDuPont Inc. ("DowDuPont"). For more information, please see each of DowDuPont's, Dow's and DuPont's latest annual, quarterly and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, as the case may be, and the joint proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by DowDuPont with the SEC on March 1, 2016 (File No. 333-209869), as last amended on June 7, 2016, and declared effective by the SEC on June 9, 2016 (the "Registration Statement") in connection with the Merger Transaction.
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Sumitomo Chemical's Cautionary Statement about Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this release with respect to Sumitomo Chemical's current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Sumitomo Chemical. These statements are based on Sumitomo Chemical's assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it, and involve risks and uncertainties.
The important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions in Sumitomo Chemical's markets; demand for, and competitive pricing pressure on, Sumitomo Chemical's products in the marketplace; Sumitomo Chemical's ability to continue to win acceptance for its products in these highly competitive markets; the success of Sumitomo Chemical's research or development activities; and movements of currency exchange rates. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements contained in this release, which are current only as of the date of this release. Sumitomo Chemical disclaims any current intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements or any of the factors that may affect actual results.