Key Takeaways
- Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions signs a joint intellectual property licensing agreement with Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute for CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tools.
- The partnership aims to develop crops tolerant to Harpe Bioherbicide applications, expanding commercial opportunities.
- Harpe’s products work as both pre- and post-emergent weed prevention and control, offering a sustainable alternative to synthetic herbicides.
- The collaboration seeks to address increasing weed resistance challenges while promoting sustainable practices in global food production.
- Harpe is also collaborating with Solis Agrosciences to accelerate the development of herbicide-tolerant crop systems.
Advancing Sustainable Herbicide Solutions
Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions, Inc., an agtech company specializing in natural and sustainable herbicide solutions, has announced a joint intellectual property licensing agreement with Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The agreement focuses on the foundational CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene editing tools to further research and develop crops tolerant to Harpe Bioherbicide applications.
Meeting Farmers’ Needs with CRISPR-Cas9
The company is advancing its portfolio of natural, non-selective herbicide formulations to a commercial-ready phase using active ingredient compounds in plant extracts. Utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 technology will help meet farmers’ needs for expanded and differentiated weed control solutions, thereby increasing the technology’s commercial viability.
Impact on Conventional Herbicides
Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions aims to lead in the bioherbicide market with its new products. The developed products will also impact the broader industry of conventional herbicides by offering new sites and modes of action.
Versatile Weed Control
Harpe’s bioherbicide products work both as pre-emergent weed prevention and post-emergent weed control. These products can be used alone or combined with synthetic chemical herbicides to eliminate resistant and tough-to-kill weeds effectively. This dual functionality allows less harm to the soil and surrounding environment while safely increasing crop yields.
A Future-Oriented Approach
“We’re excited to add CRISPR-Cas9 technology to our platform of tools aimed at providing more sustainable herbicide use for the industry,” said Chad Brommer, PhD, Chief Technology Officer at Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions. “These pioneering tools will help enable in-season use of Harpe’s new bioherbicide formulations to mitigate increasing weed resistance challenges while advancing sustainable practices in global food production.”
Collaboration with Solis Agrosciences
Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions is also collaborating with Saint Louis-based Solis Agrosciences to accelerate the development of herbicide-tolerant crop systems. Solis provides cutting-edge R&D services and an end-to-end pipeline that designs, generates, and tests transgenic and gene-edited plants quickly and cost-effectively.
Photo by Riccardo Atrot on Unsplash
