Eugene, Oregon, USA
January 12, 2011
Illinois Foundation Seeds, Inc., a leading research, product development, and licensing company serving both the dent and sweet corn industry, has made a strategic investment in Floragenex, a genomics technology firm focused on serving the needs of the global seed and agricultural markets.
Floragenex, with operations based in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, has been steadily expanding its customer base and expertise since inception in early 2007. Enabled with an exclusive license to RAD sample preparation and sequencing technology developed at the University of Oregon, Floragenex offers flexible solutions to research challenges of customers around the world working in breeding, research, and plant pathology.
“This investment will enable Floragenex to continue advancing our vision of expanding the market for genomics technology, “ says Nathan Lillegard, Floragenex President and CEO. “While industry leaders can invest millions of dollars to build genome sequencing and bioinformatics infrastructure to meet their research challenges, we seek to make this fundamental technology revolution more accessible for all of global agriculture. Our proprietary technologies bring powerful genomics applications to within reach of any seed company, government agency, or academic researcher working in plant sciences.”
John Hiser, CEO of IFSI, says “We are excited to work with Floragenex’s genomics technology for our breeders and our seed industry partners. Floragenex continues to grow and we are interested in investing in and supporting companies that want to stay independent and bring value to the seed industry.”
As part of the agreement, IFSI will gain access to Floragenex technology for their research and breeding efforts in the dent corn and sweet corn markets. “We look forward to expanding our expertise in corn markets, in concert with helping IFSI remain a leader in product solutions,” says Lillegard. “The experience and relationships of IFSI will help us understand and meet the needs of independent seed companies competing in the global marketplace.”
As part of the transaction, Tim Johnson, Division President of IFSI will join the board of Floragenex to provide support as the company continues to grow into new markets and reach new customers.
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