-On track for commercial launch of first herbicide tolerant Camelina variety as early as 2025
-First field tests of stacked herbicide tolerant winter Camelina underway
-Recent positive field tests demonstrate stacked herbicide traits in spring Camelina
-Herbicide tolerance in Camelina supports large acreage production of low-carbon intensity feedstock oil for the biofuel market
WOBURN, Mass., Oct. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: YTEN) (“Yield10” or the “Company”), an agricultural bioscience company, today announced recent advancements toward enabling weed control for Camelina cultivation and supporting grower adoption of the crop for production of low-carbon intensity feedstock oil for the biofuel market.
Control of broadleaf weeds is essential for the rapid adoption and success of commercial crops in North America. Yield10 is establishing a leadership position in the development of herbicide tolerant (“HT”) Camelina to drive broad acceptance of the crop by growers. The Company is developing Camelina with tolerance to a broad leaf herbicide, which has been used safely in commercial crop production for over 25 years. In addition, Yield10 is developing an herbicide package for Camelina, incorporating tolerance to over-the-top application of broadleaf herbicide as well as tolerance to soil residual Group 2 herbicides, which are commonly used to control weeds in cereal crops.
“The Yield10 team is making significant progress toward our goal of launching elite herbicide tolerant Camelina for producing feedstock oil for the biofuels market,” said Kristi Snell, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “We aim to facilitate the seamless integration of Camelina with current weed control and crop rotation practices of major crops in order to enable the planting of Camelina on large-scale acreage. This winter, we anticipate that our program will achieve another important milestone as we conduct field tests of stacked HT winter Camelina for the first time. We will also continue to execute on seed scale-up and regulatory activities in support of the planned commercial launch of our elite HT and stacked HT Camelina varieties.”
Development of commercial quality herbicide tolerant Camelina. Broad-spectrum herbicides have been used to protect seed yield by controlling broadleaf weeds.
- Yield10 has demonstrated tolerance to over-the-top spray application of a commonly used broad leaf herbicide in its E3902 HT Camelina in three cycles of field testing. Additional field test data is being collected and grain and protein meal samples analyzed to support the use of HT Camelina meal in livestock feed. Throughout 2023, Yield10 has conducted seed scale-up activities that will continue in the contra season in Chile. Yield10 is building seed inventory for a planned commercial launch of HT spring Camelina as early as 2025.
- Last year, Yield10 filed a request for Regulatory Status Review (“RSR”) with USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services (“BRS”) for Yield10’s broadleaf HT Camelina under the Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (“SECURE”) Rule. A response from the agency is pending.
- Earlier this year, one of the manufacturers of the herbicide submitted a label amendment to the Environmental Protection Agency to allow use of their broadleaf herbicide on Camelina.
Development of commercial quality stacked HT Camelina. Yield10 is developing elite Camelina varieties with a robust weed control package based on tolerance to a broad leaf herbicide application as well as to soil residues of Group 2 herbicides (“IMI”/imidazolinones and “SU”/sulfonylurea).
- Yield10 recently announced it demonstrated tolerance to over-the-top spray application of the commonly used broad leaf herbicide as well as tolerance to Group 2 herbicide in its spring E3902 stacked HT Camelina. Yield10 plans to conduct seed scale-up activities in contra season in Chile for this variety.
- Yield10 researchers have developed candidate stacked HT winter Camelina. Yield10 is testing stacked HT winter Camelina in field tests for the first time this winter.
- Earlier this year Yield10 filed an RSR with USDA-APHIS (BRS) for Yield10’s stacked HT Camelina under the SECURE Rule. A response from the agency is pending.
About the SECURE Rule
The SECURE Rule was published on May 18, 2020 and represents the first comprehensive revision of APHIS’ biotechnology regulations since 1987. The revisions enable APHIS to regulate organisms developed using genetic engineering for plant pest risk with greater precision and reduce regulatory burden for developers of organisms that are unlikely to pose plant pest risks. Once a specific plant developed through genetic engineering is found not to require regulation, new varieties of the plant containing the same genetic modification would similarly not be regulated. Camelina plants containing herbicide resistance traits are subject to labeling under EPA regulations.
About Yield10 Bioscience
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. ("Yield10" or the "Company") is an agricultural bioscience company that is leveraging advanced genetics to develop the oilseed Camelina sativa ("Camelina") as a platform crop for large-scale production of sustainable seed products. These seed products include feedstock oils for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation biofuels; omega-3 (EPA and DHA+EPA) oils for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and aquafeed applications; and, in the future, PHA bioplastics for use as biodegradable bioplastics. Our commercial plan is based on establishing a grain contracting business leveraging our proprietary elite Camelina seed varieties, focusing on the growing demand for low-carbon intensity feedstock oil for biofuels and omega-3 oils for nutritional applications. Yield10 is headquartered in Woburn, MA and has a Canadian subsidiary, Yield10 Oilseeds Inc., located in Saskatoon, Canada.
For more information about the Company, please visit www.yield10bio.com, or follow the Company on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn.
(YTEN-G)
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical, including, without limitation, expectations related to the Company’s continued research and development activities for different varieties of HT Camelina, the expected path to regulatory approvals for their traits, the reproducibility of data from greenhouse and field tests, the potential for herbicide tolerance in Camelina to support grower adoption and enable large acreage production of the crop and ultimately to allow for low-carbon intensity feedstock oil for the biofuel market, expectations regarding the integration of Camelina with current weed control and crop rotation practices of major crops, the start and timing of completion of field tests and seed scale-up activities, and commercial launch plans for the Company’s products, constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties detailed in Yield10 Bioscience's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Yield10 assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the matters described herein.
Contacts:
Yield10 Bioscience:
Lynne H. Brum, (617) 682-4693, LBrum@yield10bio.com
Investor Relations:
Bret Shapiro, (561) 479-8566, brets@coreir.com
Managing Director, CORE IR
Media Inquiries:
Eric Fischgrund, eric@fischtankpr.com
FischTank PR
