Wilmington, Del. (PRWEB) April 22, 2015

Today, DuPont announced it has agreed to acquire Taxon Biosciences, Inc., a leading microbiome discovery company. This acquisition will build on DuPont’s in-house capabilities and unparalleled market access in both seed and crop protection to discover and commercialize biological solutions for agriculture customers globally.

“In 2014, the businesses in DuPont’s Agriculture, Nutrition & Health and Industrial Biosciences segments sold more than $ 1 billion in biological solutions across four market sectors. Our in-house, cross-business venture, DuPont Biologicals, draws on our world-class science and deep understanding of food and production agriculture markets to deliver value-added crop biological solutions,” said Executive Vice President James C. (Jim) Borel. “Taxon has built a leading technology platform for the discovery of microbial based products that will further strengthen our capabilities in biologicals.”

Based in Tiburon, Calif., Taxon was founded in 2000, by leading microbial geneticists Matt Ashby and Jasper Rine, with the objective of developing a transformational microbial genomics platform to solve critical challenges in agriculture, energy and health sciences. The company holds a broad intellectual property estate in the field of microbial consortia and microbial genomics products which will contribute to the development of new DuPont seed treatment, foliar and soil application products for important row crops, fruits and vegetables.

“The acquisition of Taxon will complement and enhance our in-house microbial discovery programs,” said Frank DeGennaro, director of DuPont Biologicals. “With this added capability, we expect to accelerate our time from discovery to market and we are field testing biological discovery leads identified by Taxon this year.”

“DuPont has a legacy of innovation, and we are excited to join the company in transforming the future of global agriculture through crop biologicals,” said Glenn Nedwin, chief executive officer and president, Taxon Biosciences, Inc. “Our unique technology platform coupled with DuPont’s robust research capabilities and positioning across several markets makes the integration of Taxon into DuPont a natural fit and will support DuPont’s ability to bring new products to the market, faster.”

Crop biologicals include microbes, plant extracts, and other natural substances used to control pests and improve plant health, quality and yield. As part of an integrated management approach to control pests, biologicals can provide more choice and flexibility for growers, and complement leading-edge solutions for growers available from DuPont Crop Protection and DuPont Pioneer.

DuPont Crop Protection recently launched DuPont™ Acapela® Soft Control in France that combines an effective biological treatment with new-generation DuPont chemistry for foliar disease control in oilseed rape resulting in added value for our customers. Several DuPont seed products in North America today are treated with biological seed treatment products for properties such as improved stand, vigor and yield.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Closing of the acquisition is expected in the second quarter.

Taxon Biosciences, Inc. is a first mover in the industrial microbiome field, utilizes proprietary advancements in genomics, bioinformatics and microbiology to identify, resolve, validate and commercialize microbiome-based products from agricultural or environmental settings. For more information, visit Taxon’s website at http://www.taxon.com.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements which may be identified by their use of words like “plans,” “expects,” “will,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or other words of similar meaning. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company’s growth strategy, product development, regulatory approval, market position, anticipated benefits of acquisitions, timing of anticipated benefits from restructuring actions, outcome of contingencies, such as litigation and environmental matters, expenditures and financial results, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be realized. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company’s control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those projected in any such forward-looking statements are: fluctuations in energy and raw material prices; failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; ability to respond to market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies affecting products based on biotechnology; significant litigation and environmental matters; failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues; changes in laws and regulations or political conditions; global economic and capital markets conditions, such as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; business or supply disruptions; security threats, such as acts of sabotage, terrorism or war, weather events and natural disasters; ability to protect and enforce the company’s intellectual property rights; successful integration of acquired businesses and separation of underperforming or non-strategic assets or businesses and successful completion of the proposed spinoff of the Performance Chemicals segment including ability to fully realize the expected benefits of the proposed spinoff. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information.

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4/22/15

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