• Cibus and Interoc announced today they have agreed to a Collaboration Agreement to introduce Cibus’ two herbicide tolerance traits for rice growers in Latin America
  
• Cibus’ two rice herbicide tolerance traits will be added to Interoc’s elite germplasm, as part of the commitment to bring rice growers in Latin America a solution for weed management

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cibus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBUS), a leading agricultural technology company that develops and licenses gene edited plant traits to seed companies for royalties, today announced that it has entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Interoc, a company with more than 25 years in Latin America, focused on the research and development of solutions for agriculture. Starting with Cibus’ rice herbicide tolerance traits, Cibus has agreed to partner with Interoc to provide traits for Interoc’s elite rice seed genetics.

Interoc will market high performing rice hybrids and varieties for the Latin American market developed with Cibus’ technology expertise. The program will encompass herbicide tolerance traits to support existing needs in terms of weed and resistance management that can contribute to improving yields in a region whose productivity has been increasingly affected by resistant weeds, including weedy rice.

"We are excited to leverage our rice technology platform to support Interoc's development efforts to bring the next generation of innovative products to farmers," said Martin Poveda, Senior Director Rice Business and Industry Affairs at Cibus. "As we tackle agriculture's greatest challenges, we're excited to partner with leaders like Interoc and work together to solve some of the most pressing challenges in rice production in Latin America today.”

Rice is one of Cibus’ lead crops and the first traits for rice are two separate herbicide tolerances – HT1 and HT3. The performance of both herbicide tolerance traits has been assessed by Cibus in multi-location field trials across multiple seasons in the United States and will allow quick advancement of the traits in Interoc rice germplasm. Interoc has a strong rice seed presence in Latin American countries and owns an extensive rice germplasm bank.

Interoc and Cibus intend to commercialize herbicide tolerance in rice with a focus on the key markets in Latin America.

Interoc is a company that, through a developed and highly motivated team, provides innovative solutions for agriculture and industry on the continent. Their clients derive satisfaction and trust from the effectiveness of their service, as well as the sustainability that they ensure for the environment and the value for shareholders. Together with Interoc, Cibus believes that they can help address some of the most pressing weed management challenges of Latin America rice growers.

“One of Interoc´s sustainable development goals is to improve productivity of farmers in Latin America with our novel elite genetics combined with latest rice technologies. The agreement with Cibus will bolster our strategy as it will allow us to expand our trait portfolio for rice,” commented Fernando de la Puente, Corporate Vice President of Interoc.

About Cibus

Cibus is a leader in gene edited productivity traits that address critical productivity and sustainability challenges for farmers such as diseases and pests which the United Nations estimates cost the global economy approximately $300 billion annually. Cibus is not a seed company. It is a technology company that uses gene editing to develop and license traits to seed companies in exchange for royalties on seed sales. Cibus’ focus is productivity traits for the major global crops such as canola, rice, soybean, and wheat. Cibus is the technology leader in high throughput gene editing technology that enables Cibus to develop and commercialize plant traits at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding. Cibus has developed a pipeline of five productivity traits including important traits for pod shatter reduction, Sclerotinia resistance and weed management. Three crops: canola, rice, and soybean; with Cibus’ five traits: pod shatter reduction, herbicide tolerance (HT)1, HT2, HT3, and Sclerotinia resistance make up the core of Cibus’ three-crop, five-trait model, which is the central focus of its business. Its initial traits for pod shatter reduction and weed management are developed in collaboration with leading seed companies. Its other pipeline traits including Sclerotinia resistance are in advanced greenhouse and field trial stages.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "anticipates," "believes," "continue," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "might," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "should," "targets," "will," or the negative of these terms and other similar terminology. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated closing of the offering and the expected uses of the proceeds from the offering. Completion of the offering is subject to numerous factors, many of which are beyond Cibus’ control, including, without limitation, market conditions, failure of customary closing conditions and the risk factors and other matters set forth in the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus included in the registration statement and the documents incorporated by reference therein. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made by Cibus’ management, which are based only on information currently available to it when, and speak only as of the date, such statement is made. Cibus does not assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by law.

Cibus Contacts:
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Karen Troeber
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858-450-2636

Jeff Sonnek – ICR
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MEDIA RELATIONS
Colin Sanford
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203-918-4347