XL TechGroup company, TyraTech, signs licensing agreement with Syngenta Professional Products
20 July 2006
XL TechGroup (AIM: XLT), the systematic architect and builder of an ongoing stream of high value new companies, announces that its portfolio company, TyraTech LLC, has signed a licensing agreement with Syngenta Professional Products. The agreement grants Syngenta rights to license TyraTech's natural and highly effective technologies relating to a range of insecticide applications.
The agreement gives Syngenta initial rights to TyraTech's innovative technology platform, allowing the rapid development of new formulations targeted at specific insecticide applications, providing Syngenta with a natural active ingredient development platform for certain insecticide categories. Syngenta Professional Products sells seed care, lawn and garden care, and home care products in professional and consumer markets.
Under the proposed terms of the agreement, TyraTech will receive upfront and milestone payments, followed by royalties based on product sale revenues. The financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
TyraTech has a unique biotechnology platform that has been applied to the creation of an entirely new class of natural insecticides that are highly effective, as demonstrated by independent trials. The core technology, which uses the successful reproduction of chemo receptors in a stable cell line to identify highly effective essential oil compounds, has a wide variety of applications. The ingredients are based on natural plant oils, which are environmentally-friendly and designed to be harmless for humans, animals and the environment.
Kris Sirchio, Head of Syngenta Professional Products said: “We are enthusiastic about the potential of TyraTech's natural insecticide technology platform and rapid development capabilities.”
John Scott, Chief Executive Officer of XL TechGroup, said: “We are delighted that TyraTech has signed this agreement with the worldwide leader in agribusiness. The opportunity to combine the TyraTech science with Syngenta's world class R&D, business building track record and global scale creates a powerful formula for market success. The potential revenue from this agreement alone could represent a significant percentage of our conservative expectations for TyraTech.”For further information:
hgubnitsky@xltg.com
www.xltechgroup.com
XL Tech Group media enquiries:
heather.salmond@abchurch-group.com
www.abchurch-group.com
Notes to Editors
About XL TechGroup
XL TechGroup identifies unmet market needs in the Biotech, Ecotech and Medtech sectors and then systematically creates and develops successful disruptive technology businesses to exploit these needs. The Company has developed a unique proven method to rapidly bring companies from inception to liquidity, matching unexploited IP from a group of corporate and technology partners to the identified unmet market need. XL TechGroup employs its own predictive algorithm to ensure the market will rapidly adopt the identified solution and then moves to scale the company specifically created to exploit the opportunity.
Before forming XL TechGroup, the management team created substantial value for shareholders over a twelve year period, successfully exiting six technology businesses at an average market valuation of approximately US$500 million.
The listing of the first company created under the XL TechGroup banner, AgCert International, continues to validate the systematic approach to value creation.
- AgCert International was created by XL TechGroup in May 2002 and is a global leader in the production and sale of agriculturally derived greenhouse gas emission reductions, with business in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. AgCert was listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2005 and XL TechGroup maintains a 24.7% interest in AgCert. www.agcert.com
The second and third companies in the new generation of XL TechGroup businesses are:
- TyraTech LLC , which was created by XL TechGroup in July 2004, is developing a new class of insecticides utilizing all natural active ingredients. TyraTech is able to quickly evaluate natural ingredient combinations by utilizing a patent-pending high throughput chemoreceptor screening process that accurately predicts effectiveness levels. TyraTech's development is progressing rapidly in both insecticidal and related human healthcare applications. TyraTech, which is 66.7% owned by XL TechGroup, is continuing discussions with companies in North America, Asia and Europe as well as numerous national public health programs about the licensing and distribution rights for its patent-pending formulations in relation to natural insecticide and personal care products. www.tyratech.com
- DxTech LLC was created by XL TechGroup in July 2005, and is developing a unique micro-fluidic platform that replaces essentially all biological tests currently performed at reference laboratories with a fully-automated, point-of-care device. This technology has applications in significantly lowering costs and increasing efficiency for major pharmaceutical companies in their clinical trials, the provision of diagnostics in developing countries and d elivering a new revenue stream for doctors in the USA . DxTech is currently 88% owned by XL TechGroup. www.dxtech.com
XL TechGroup has a number of other opportunities already at an advanced stage in its busi ness creation pipeline, and expects to create one-to-two new companies annually that can each achieve a liquidity event worth at least US$400 million within four years from inception.
For further information, see www.xltechgroup.com
About Syngenta
Syngenta Professional Products markets crop protection products in non-agricultural markets such as home care and lawn and garden. Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2005 were approximately US$8.1 billion. Syngenta employs some 19,000 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT).
Further information is available at www.syngenta.com
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