Press Releases
ViaGen Acquires Livestock Pioneer ProLinia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2003
ViaGen Acquires Livestock Pioneer ProLinia
Deal Gives Genetics Company Patent Rights, Contract with World’s Largest Hog Producer and New Scientific Talent
ViaGen, Inc. of Austin, Texas, a leading provider of genomics and assisted breeding services to the animal industry, announced today the acquisition of livestock pioneer ProLinia. The deal brings to ViaGen ProLinia’s technology development contract with the world’s largest hog producer, Smithfield Foods, through their Murphy-Brown operations, and the company’s premier scientific talent and key intellectual property in the area of advanced reproductive technology.
Also included in the agreement is ProLinia’s non-exclusive license obtained from Geron Corporation to use nuclear transfer technology for agricultural purposes, conveying worldwide rights to clone swine and worldwide rights (excluding Australia and New Zealand) to clone cattle.
“It’s hard to imagine a more attractive partner for ViaGen than ProLinia,” said Scott Davis, ViaGen’s co-founder and president. “In the biotech business, it’s rare to find a single company that allows you to significantly boost your cash flow, fortify your scientific team and gain access to patent rights in one fell swoop. Acquiring ProLinia brings us all of these things.”
Based in Athens, Georgia, ProLinia is best known in the livestock industry for using cloning services to achieve new levels of animal quality and efficiency in swine and cattle breeding operations. Most notably, its expertise attracted the attention of Smithfield Foods, which signed a contract with the company to study the potential implementation of the technology for improving the overall genetics of their swine breeding stock.
“Having already penetrated the swine and cattle market, it made sense for us to join forces with a company like ViaGen, which has the resources and capability to enhance the kind of services we provide to all segments of the animal agriculture industry,” said ProLinia’s President, Michael Wanner, who will become ViaGen’s Chief Operating Officer (COO).
In addition to Wanner, Dr. Steven Stice, who served as ProLinia’s Chief Scientific Officer, will join ViaGen’s scientific team. A Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Animal Reproductive Biology, Dr. Stice has more than 15 years of experience in reproductive technology and is a pioneer in agricultural cloning. Stice will work with ViaGen as a lead scientific adviser.
“ViaGen was already a formidable player in the market for animal genetic services,” Stice said. “Now that they have added ProLinia’s capabilities, you’ll be hard pressed to find any competitors who come close to matching our combined breadth and depth.”
About ViaGen:
ViaGen provides state-of-the-art advanced breeding services powered by genomics to all sectors of the $240 billion livestock, aquaculture and companion animal industry. Unmatched genomic capabilities allow ViaGen to identify economically important genetic traits in virtually any animal species, information that is paired with ViaGen’s expertise in advanced reproductive technologies to obtain revenue enhancing improvements in quality, yield, safety and brand integrity. ViaGen is an Exeter Life Sciences company located in Austin, Texas. Exeter Life Sciences is a world leader in innovative health and life-sciences products and services that improve the lives of people, animals and the environment.
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