Key Takeaways
- Pairwise and Netherlands-based Hudson River Biotechnology have signed a licensing agreement granting Hudson River access to the Fulcrum plant gene editing platform.
- Fulcrum is Pairwise's integrated platform encompassing gene editing tools, enzymes, and trait libraries for precise modification across a wide range of crop species.
- Hudson River will integrate Fulcrum tools into its existing editing services, complementing its established BioMaas workflow for crop improvement customers.
- The agreement targets vegetable, soft fruit, and other specialty crop species where Hudson River's customers are already active.
- Both parties describe the deal as a mechanism for extending precision gene editing capabilities to more breeders and crop types.
Pairwise Extends Fulcrum Platform Through New Partnership
Pairwise has signed a licensing agreement with Hudson River Biotechnology, a plant biotechnology company headquartered in the Netherlands, granting Hudson River access to the Fulcrum plant gene editing platform. The deal allows Hudson River to incorporate Fulcrum tools directly into the editing services it provides to crop improvement customers across vegetable, soft fruit, and other specialty species.
Hudson River specializes in genome editing, plant regeneration, and trait development, offering clients a transgene-free editing approach applied directly in elite lines. The Fulcrum license broadens the editing toolkit available to the company, complementing its existing BioMaas workflow.
What Fulcrum Brings to Hudson River Customers
Fulcrum is Pairwise's proprietary integrated plant gene editing platform, incorporating editing tools, enzymes, and trait libraries designed to enable precise modifications across a broad range of crop species. The platform has been developed and validated within Pairwise's own internal breeding programs before being made available to external partners and licensees.
“Our customers increasingly recognize genome editing as a crucial part of their breeding tools and come to us for our ability to apply this technology in a transgene-free manner directly in elite lines and flexible partnership models. Fulcrum expands the editing toolbox we can offer, enabling us to support a broader range of applications and opportunities for our customers,” said Lotte Westerhof, CSO of Hudson River Biotechnology.
Pairwise Strategy: Reaching More Crops Through Licensing
For Pairwise, the agreement with Hudson River represents a continuation of its strategy to scale the reach of its Fulcrum platform through external partnerships. By licensing to companies already embedded with specialty crop breeders, Pairwise extends the platform's impact beyond its own breeding operations.
“Partnerships like this one are how Fulcrum reaches more breeders and more crops. We're excited to work with Hudson River extending our platform for specialty crops where their customers are already active – accelerating the delivery of beneficial crops to agriculture,” said Ian Miller, COO of Pairwise.
The collaboration reflects broader momentum in Netherlands-based agtech, where plant science companies continue to develop partnerships that bring advanced editing tools into commercial breeding pipelines. For specialty crop sectors, access to platforms like Fulcrum can help breeders move more efficiently from trait identification to deployment in elite germplasm.
Further details on the financial terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.
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