Wageningen, The Netherlands
December 24, 2013

KeyGene announced today that it has been issued U.S. patent 8,614,073 entitled “High Throughput Screening of Mutagenized Populations”, dated December 24, 2013, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent protects methods for detecting induced and natural genetic variation in large plant populations which form the cornerstone of KeyGene’s KeyPoint®MB programs. The issuance of the U.S. patent follows earlier grants in Australia, Europe, Japan and the People’s Republic of China, securing broad patent protection for the methods in important areas for crop improvement. KeyPoint MB delivers genetic variation in important crop traits such as yield, (a)biotic stress resistances and plant reproduction. KeyPoint MB has enabled KeyGene to produce pre-breeding materials for canola, corn, soybean, wheat and a number of vegetable crops within timeframes of months and in an unrivaled costeffective way. Application of KeyPoint MB does not fall under GMO legislation, thereby leading to further cost savings and broadening the application space of KeyPoint MB for genetic improvement of a wide variety of crops.

The KeyPoint® MB technology is protected by patents and patent applications owned by Keygene N.V. KeyPoint is a registered trademark of Keygene N.V.

KeyGene is a privately owned, innovative molecular genetics Ag Biotech company with a primary focus on the improvement of 6F (Food, Feed, Fiber, Fuel, Flowers and Fun) crops. KeyGene’s passion is a Green Gene Revolution approach to explore and exploit natural genetic variation in vegetable and other 6F crops. KeyGene delivers sustainable responses to the world’s needs for yield stability & quality of vegetable and field crops. It supports its strategic partners with cutting edge breeding technologies and plant-based trait platforms to meet their needs. KeyGene performs strategic and applied research with more than 135 employees from all over the world, with state of the art facilities and equipment. KeyGene has its headquarters in Wageningen, The Netherlands, a subsidiary in Rockville, USA and a Joint Lab with the Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences in Shanghai, China.

Website: http://www.keygene.com

Published: December 24, 2013