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Health & Fitness

Acquisition Creates Opportunity for Investors and Bringing New Products to Market

Intuitive Genomics, a St. Louis company co-founded by three Danforth Center scientists, has been acquired by NewLeaf Symbiotics. Both companies are part of the tenant community at the BioResearch and Development Growth (BRDG) Park at The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. This unique ecosystem is an example of how the Danforth Center is making a positive impact on the region's growing bioscience economy.

NewLeaf Symbiotics is researching and commercializing naturally beneficial plant bacteria for crop health and protection.  The use of natural biologicals to control plant disease and increase crop yield is one of the most promising opportunities to address the rapidly expanding global agricultural productivity gap.

The acquisition of Intuitive Genomics’ elite computational and bioinformatics capabilities compliments NewLeaf’s R&D and product pipeline and positions the rapidly growing company as a top player in the burgeoning biologicals category.

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Jim Carrington, Ph.D., president of the Danforth Center and co-founder of Intuitive Genomics stated, “This is exactly the sort of collaboration the Danforth Plant Science Center seeks to foster.  Here you have two locally incubated companies, each of which is a leader in its field, working in close proximity and recognizing the value in joining forces.”

Carrington will join the NewLeaf Science Advisory Board; Todd Mockler, Ph.D., associate member and Geraldine and Robert Virgil Distinguished Investigator at the Danforth Center will become vice-president of genomics at NewLeaf; and Doug Bryant, Ph.D., director, Bioinformatics Core at the Danforth Center will become vice-president of bioinformatics at NewLeaf.

“We have been pushing the envelope in bioinformatics for the past several years and have concluded that there is tremendous potential in biologicals. This is clear when you consider the recent acquisitions by ag industry giants in this area, and the recent high impact studies on both human and plant microbiomes,” Mockler said.

NewLeaf will present at the highly regarded, 8th annual New England Venture Summit in Boston on Tuesday, December 11, 2013. The event is the premier industry event connecting venture capitalists, corporate VCs, angel investors, technology transfer professionals, senior executives of early stage and emerging growth companies, university researchers, incubators and premier service providers.

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