Research & Development
Syngenta is setting new industry standards in innovation and speed to market. With a rich and vibrant pipeline in Crop Protection and Seeds, we continue to provide growers with targeted solutions.
Accelerating innovation in Research and Development
Research and Development (R&D) lies at the heart of Syngenta's business. Our outstanding record of innovation enables us to meet the constantly changing needs
of agricultural markets. With around 4,000 employees, we continue to search for new and improved ways of raising the quality and yield of crops worldwide.
Last year, we invested $830 million in R&D, 9 percent of our sales.
Crop Protection and Seed Care
Syngenta has a rich pipeline which extends beyond 2012 with projects covering all product lines. Estimates of the peak sales potential of the pipeline were raised during the year and now stand at over $2 billion. The new insecticide DURIVOT received its first registration in Indonesia and will be launched in several countries including the USA in 2008. In January 2008 a letter of intent was signed for a strategic alliance with Rohm & Haas to develop and commercialize InvinsaT1 technology. InvinsaT1 is a unique product for crop stress protection in field crops, with a market potential currently estimated at over $500 million.
- InvinsaT, an AgroFresh trademark
Syngenta expands its international R&D center at Stein, Switzerland, with new chemistry laboratories, an interaction center and Seed Care Institute.
Realignment and acceleration
Crop Protection R&D is based at Jealott's Hill in the UK and Stein in Switzerland. In 2007, we relocated our chemistry research from Basel to nearby Stein,
opening purpose-built new laboratories next to the site's biology buildings. The move is already facilitating cooperation and stimulating the exchange of
ideas between scientists across disciplines.
The new research facility also includes a Seed Care Institute housing a "best-in-class" application and seed technology training center. This will enable us to
offer customers tailored solutions guaranteeing the full potential of their seed germplasm.
In 2007, we reshaped our international network of field stations to cover an optimal range of crops, climate and soil conditions. Development work includes
careful preparation for commercialization: for example, in developing AVICTA® for use on corn we have carried out soil mapping to test for infestation levels.
We increasingly outsource development studies to partners around the world. This allows us to draw on a broad range of capabilities matched to local needs
and conditions, increasing the flexibility and speed of our development programs. We retain study design and regulatory expertise as in-house functions to
ensure that we keep pace with increasingly stringent regulatory demands around the world.
These changes will allow us to increase our speed to market, a vital parameter for Syngenta R&D. Traditionally, our industry has taken about a decade to
deliver a new chemical compound to growers. We are reducing the time from research to market by one to two years, for example by running studies in parallel
rather than sequentially. A close working relationship between development and marketing allows us to focus studies on clear product positioning from the outset.
A notable recent success was the rapid registration of REVUS®. We made our first sales of this potato fungicide in 2007, after a development program that set
new standards for speed in our industry.
Biotechnology leads Seeds innovation thrust
In 2007, Seeds R&D passed several important milestones in its plant biotechnology research and development. The US Environmental Protection Agency approved
the stacked combination of our new corn rootworm trait and our European corn borer trait. This approval enabled us to launch our triple stacked corn, which
also contains glyphosate tolerance.
In Brazil, regulators approved Bt11 corn, the first genetically modified corn from Syngenta to achieve registration in this market. We also made progress
with the next generation of insect-protection traits. We submitted MIR162 corn with in-built resistance to lepidoptera pests for regulatory approval in the
USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Brazil and a number of other markets.
Syngenta's corn amylase, the first enzyme to be bred into corn - and which is essential in converting corn into bioethanol - entered bulk testing in biofuel
facilities in 2007. It promises to simplify production and raise fuel yield per acre and has successfully completed the US Food and Drug Administration's
consultation process for food and feed safety.
Optimizing plants' water use could make a major contribution to saving vital resources, particularly for water-intensive crops such as corn. A decade's
research has already enabled Syngenta to identify the genes necessary for water optimization. Our researchers are now drawing on native corn genes as well
as genes derived from arid-land plants to develop water optimization traits, which we are beginning to test across a wide range of moisture conditions in
North and South America.
Strengthened network of collaborations
Our research center Syngenta Biotechnology Inc (SBI), based at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, USA, works with numerous external partners in
commercial and academic organizations.
In 2007, we made two notable additions to our third-party collaborations. We began a five-year research collaboration with the Institute of Genetics and
Developmental Biology (IGDB) in Beijing, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of China's leading biotechnology research institutes.
The collaboration will focus on identifying and developing novel agronomic traits, including drought tolerance, for crops such as corn, soybean, wheat,
sugar beet and sugar cane. Traits will be developed not just for China but also for agricultural markets globally, where they will be commercialized by
Syngenta.
We also established a new research partnership with Australia's Queensland University of Technology to develop enzyme systems for converting sugar cane
waste into biofuel. The partnership complements a new ten-year agreement signed with Verenium (formerly Diversa Corporation) to develop enzymes for
converting pre-treated cellulosic biomass. Both partnerships show how Syngenta is helping to meet rising demand for renewable fuels.
Sunflower leaf under the microscope (x330 magnification)
Vegetables and diverse field crops
Syngenta's R&D effort in Vegetables supports the continuous improvement of plant qualities most valued by our customers. Growers are primarily interested
in yield and resistance to viruses or fungal disease, while processors and retailers demand firmness and long shelf life. Consumers want appealing shape,
color and flavor. Syngenta is devoting significant resources to understanding consumer preferences and, by linking them back to plant genetics, we will be
able to deliver novel varieties targeted to specific customer preferences.
In our Diverse Field Crops business, Syngenta launched NK® PETROL in 2007. This is the first product of an entirely new hybridization system for oilseed
rape, which provides higher yields and better resistance to environmental stress.
Venture fund continues investments
Syngenta announced in 2006 its staged commitment of $100 million to Life Science Partners BioVentures (LSPB), an agribusiness venture fund. In 2007, the fund made three portfolio investments in technology-based growth companies in the USA.
Our R&D teams share their pride and passion with their families at a series of Science Live events.
R&D sites make science come alive
Syngenta's R&D sites at SBI, Stein, Jealott's Hill and Goa, India, hosted "Syngenta Science Live," a highly successful series of knowledge-sharing events. These support the company's strategy of growth through innovation and were an excellent occasion for exchanging ideas and experience between employees of all scientific disciplines.
