These agreements are expected to support the production of
approximately 500 tons of additional seeds, enabling the completion
of standing orders by the end of 2024 and positioning Casterra
to fulfill future orders.
REHOVOT, Israel, May 21, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Casterra Ag Ltd., an integrated solutions company
for growing castor for bio-based industrial applications, such as
biofuels & biopolymers and a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd.
(Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), announced it has recently signed new
agreements with both existing and new seed producers in
Africa. These agreements are
anticipated to bolster Casterra's seed supply capabilities with an
addition of approximately 500 tons of high-yielding, high-oil
castor seeds. This new addition, together with previous agreements
of approximately 400 tons of seeds announced in February this year,
is expected to enable Casterra to fulfill the orders received in
2023 by the end of 2024. In addition, this new production will
position the company to provide additional supplies for future
orders.
Elite high-yielding, high-oil castor seeds are essential for
castor cultivation, supporting the economic efficiency of oil
production as a source of sustainable biofuel. Casterra's elite
castor varieties are continuously developed to meet and surpass the
industry standards, utilizing Evogene's 'GeneRator AI' tech
engine.
Mr. Yoash Zohar, CEO of Casterra, said: "Expanding our
partnerships with existing and additional seed producers
strengthens production capabilities, marks a proactive commitment
to meet the dynamic needs of customers and markets worldwide and
also mitigates potential production risks. Casterra is
committed to establishing a reliable seed production infrastructure
and is strengthening its position as a leading company offering a
comprehensive solution for the commercial cultivation of castor
plants for the biofuel industry."
About Casterra Ag Ltd.:
Casterra is an integrated solutions company for growing castor
for bio-based industrial applications, such as biofuels &
biopolymers. It has built its castor genetic assets based on a
broad collection of over 300 castor lines from 40 different
geographic and climatic regions. As part of its development
process, Casterra applies advanced breeding methods utilizing
Evogene's GeneRator AI tech-engine, enabling cutting-edge
plant genomics tools and agro-technique expertise to enable
efficient and sustainable industrial-scale production of the castor
bean.
For more information, please visit http://www.casterra.co
About Evogene Ltd.:
Evogene (Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN) is a computational biology
company aiming to revolutionize the development of
life-science-based products by utilizing cutting-edge technologies
to increase the probability of success while reducing development
time and cost. Evogene established three unique tech-engines -
MicroBoost AI, ChemPass AI, and GeneRator AI –
leveraging Big Data and Artificial Intelligence and incorporating
deep multidisciplinary understanding in life sciences. Each
tech-engine is focused on the discovery and development of products
based on one of the following core components: microbes
(MicroBoost AI), small molecules (ChemPass AI), and
genetic elements (GeneRator AI).
Evogene uses its tech-engines to develop products through
subsidiaries and strategic partnerships. Evogene's subsidiaries
currently utilize the tech-engines to develop human
microbiome-based therapeutics by Biomica, ag-biologicals by
Lavie Bio, ag-chemicals by AgPlenus,
medical cannabis products by Canonic and castor varieties, for the
biofuel and other industries, by Casterra.
For more information, please visit www.evogene.com
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press
release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to future
events. These statements may be identified by words such as "may",
"could", "expects", "hopes" "intends", "anticipates", "plans",
"believes", "scheduled", "estimates", "demonstrates" or words of
similar meaning. For example, Evogene and its subsidiaries are
using forward-looking statement in this press release when it
discusses Casterra's ability to fulfill the orders
received in 2023 by the end of 2024 and the effect of the new
production agreements on Casterra's ability to fulfill forthcoming
orders. Such statements are based on current expectations,
estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about
future events, involve certain risks and uncertainties which are
difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance.
Therefore, actual future results, performance or achievements of
Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a
variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene
and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, the current
war between Israel and Hamas and
any worsening of the situation in Israel such as further mobilizations or
escalation in the northern border of Israel, and those risk factors contained in
Evogene's reports filed with the applicable securities authority.
In addition, Evogene and its subsidiaries rely, and expect to
continue to rely, on third parties to conduct certain activities,
such as their field-trials and pre-clinical studies, and if these
third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual
duties, comply with regulatory requirements or meet expected
deadlines, Evogene and its subsidiaries may experience significant
delays in the conduct of their activities. Evogene and its
subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments
or changes in expectations, estimates, projections, and
assumptions.
IR Contact
Rachel Pomerantz
Gerber
Head of Investor Relations at Evogene
rachel.pomerantz@evogene.com
Tel: +972-8-9311901
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SOURCE Casterra Ag Ltd.