Origin Agritech Signs Cas-SF01 Gene Editing License Deal With Shandong Shunfeng Biotech

(RTTNews) - Origin Agritech Ltd. (SEED), on Monday, announced that it has entered into a patent license agreement with Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for the Cas-SF01 gene editing tool.

The financial terms were not disclosed.

The company has begun the biosafety assessment process for the edited lines and expects final certification within one to two years.

The deal grants the company long-term access to IP-protected gene editing technologies to support its research and development in trait gene editing and speed up the adoption of advanced gene editing in corn breeding.

Using Shunfeng BioTech's Cas-SF01 platform, the company developed edited corn induction lines, including ZmRAVL1-KO1 and ZmDWF4-KO1.

The agreement also supports biosafety approvals for other gene-edited transformants using its Hi-3 one-step editing method.

The acquisition supports three strategic goals, which include ensuring biosafety compliance for regulatory evaluation, enabling direct breeding applications, and strengthening the company's Smart Plant Architecture breeding program.

In the overnight trading, Origin Agritech shares were at $1.4100, down around 2.76% on the Nasdaq.