Mycogen Corp. and Ciba Seeds have entered into a cross-licenseagreement and research collaboration to develop corn hybridsthat resist insects.

Ciba is the first company to be granted an experimental usepermit for large-scale field trials for transgenic corn, and hasintroduced an insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene intocorn plants to confer resistance to the European corn borer, amoth whose larvae burrow and feed inside the plant stalks.

Mycogen (NASDAQ:MYCO) of San Diego will grant Ciba a licenseto several issued and applied patents that pertain to Bt-engineered corn strains that Ciba can use to produce and sellhybrid corn. And Mycogen will receive access for breedingpurposes to Ciba Seeds' Bt gene in corn plants. Financial termsof the deal were not disclosed.

Mycogen and Ciba each have about 3 percent of the $1.5 billionannual corn seed market dominated by Pioneer Hi-BredInternational Inc. of Des Moines, Iowa.

Although Ecogen Inc. of Langhorne, Pa., also has beenresearching insect-resistant corn, Mycogen spokesman MikeSund said the new partners are primarily competing against"the whole chemical pesticide industry," which earns some$200 million or more annually in insecticide sales.

"The synergy between Ciba and Mycogen will get us into themarket more quickly," said Mike Maggio, president of CibaSeeds. Each company expects to bring transgenic seed tomarket within five years.

Mycogen said it will sell its first seed corn bred with insectresistance genes discovered in native members of the cornfamily by next year. This hybrid will not require regulatoryreview since it was produced through traditional methods.

Mycogen eventually may combine insect resistance from Bt andnative corn in the same seed. The potential of having insectsdevelop a tolerance for Bt, a protein found in soil organismsthat is toxic to many agricultural pests, means growers will stillhave to use multiple approaches to control pests.

Mycogen is introducing different Bt strains into different cornseed so that crops can be rotated as an added measure ofprotection, Sund said. A systemic approach to controlling cornborers makes the most sense, said Sund, since this pest feedsinside the plant, where it is hard to detect and treat withsprays.

About 60 percent of corn in the U.S. is used for feed. Table cornis a small percentage of the total acerage, while other varietiesare used for oil and commodities.

Ciba and Mycogen will collaborate to test additional Bt genesfor activity against corn pests, and will pursue development ofadditional transgenic corn hybrids. Commerical rights to theresulting technology will be shared.

-- Nancy Garcia Associate Editor

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.