Bayer CropScience and Mendel Biotechnology, Hayward, Calif., announced today a new multiyear collaboration to jointly identify herbicides with novel modes of action. Increasing evidence of herbicide-resistant weeds in different geographies — including those resistant to multiple herbicide classes — has spurred renewed interest in the discovery of herbicides. Bayer CropScience will bring in its leading expertise in herbicide research and development. Together with Mendel’s knowledge of plant genetic regulatory networks (PGRNs) and its proprietary genetic tools and assays for understanding plant development, this promising collaboration offers significant synergies.

"There is a major need in agriculture for herbicides acting through novel modes of action," noted Dr. C. David Nicholson, global head of research and development, Bayer CropScience. "We believe that this collaboration will help us continue our significant contributions in agricultural chemistry and will further strengthen our partnering to cultivate new ideas and answers to help growers to tackle weed resistance issues and to protect their crops."