Key Takeaways
- Moa Technology has announced a multi-year R&D platform collaboration with Corteva focused on discovering novel herbicide solutions for weed management.
- The partnership will pair Moa's proprietary discovery platforms with Corteva's herbicide R&D expertise to accelerate the identification of new modes of action for weed control.
- Dr Virginia Corless, CEO of Moa Technology, said the collaboration builds on the company's strength in discovering new tools to address rapidly evolving weed threats.
- Ashish Batra, vice president of crop health research and development at Corteva, said the partners aim to combine complementary strengths to address weed resistance challenges farmers face.
- Since spinning out of Oxford University in 2017, Moa has discovered a new generation of synthetic and bio-herbicidal compounds based on novel modes of action, and this marks its fourth major industry collaboration in the last two years.
Moa Technology Partners with Corteva on Herbicide Discovery
Moa Technology announced a multi-year R&D platform collaboration with Corteva focused on advancing the discovery of novel herbicide solutions to address increasingly complex weed management challenges for farmers. The collaboration will bring together Moa's proprietary discovery platforms with Corteva's herbicide R&D expertise to accelerate the identification of new modes of action for weed control solutions.
Details of the Multi-Year Collaboration
Under the agreement, Moa and Corteva will work together to identify novel modes of action capable of addressing weed control challenges that current herbicides increasingly struggle to solve. The companies said combining Moa's discovery technology with Corteva's research capabilities is intended to speed up the path from early discovery to field-ready solutions.
“Moa's core strength is discovering genuinely novel tools to tackle rapidly evolving, yield-damaging weed threats,” said Dr Virginia Corless, CEO of Moa Technology. “We're delighted to be working with Corteva on this project. The more commercial research collaborations we undertake with industry-leading companies, the faster we can accelerate delivery of safe, effective and affordable new solutions to farmers' fields.”
Addressing Weed Resistance Challenges
Weed resistance to existing herbicides has become a growing concern for growers, reducing the effectiveness of established weed control programs over time. The partnership is aimed squarely at this problem, with both companies framing the collaboration as a way to bring new modes of action to market before resistance further erodes existing options.
“We're excited to collaborate with Moa to advance the discovery of novel modes of action,” said Ashish Batra, vice president of crop health research and development for Corteva. “By combining complementary strengths, we aim to leverage Moa's new approaches in herbicide discovery, and are focused on addressing the evolving challenges farmers face from weed resistance.”
Moa Technology's Discovery Platform
Since Moa Technology was spun out of Oxford University in 2017, its proprietary technology has been used to discover a new generation of synthetic and bio-herbicidal compounds based on novel modes of action capable of breaking weed resistance.
A Growing List of Industry Collaborations
The Corteva partnership is Moa's fourth major industry collaboration signed in the last two years, adding to a pattern of agrochemical companies partnering with discovery-stage biotech firms to widen their pipeline of weed control tools.
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