Performance Plants Inc., a Canadian agricultural biotechnology company, and the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) have partnered to fund promising genomics research and identify high-value commercial opportunities in academia in an effort to nurture projects through the critical pre-commercialization process.

"Ontario needs to shrink the gap between funded research and venture investment in the commercialization of its genomics discoveries," said OGI president and CEO Ronnie Gavsie. "Partnering with Performance Plants gives
OGI the opportunity to serve as a catalyst for moving research discoveries along the path towards commercialization."

For their first initiative, Performance Plants (PPI) and OGI will collaborate with Drs. Marilyn Griffith and Barbara A. Moffat of the University of Waterloo and Elizabeth A. Weretilnyk of McMaster University to develop transgenic plants with enhanced agronomic traits.

"The primary concern among farmers, whether they live in North America or Africa, is to produce crops that will have high, predictable yields from one year to the next" said Performance Plants President and CEO David Dennis. "Our strategic partnership with OGI will identify valuable yield-enhancing traits that will help tomorrow's farmers achieve economic and food security."

Many of the inventions and discoveries arising through basic research and development programmes require significant investment and scientific resources to demonstrate commercial viability. Performance Plants and OGI are committed to working together in order to migrate Canadian Intellectual Property into the marketplace.

The Ontario Genomics Institute leads Ontario in building its world-renowned scientific excellence in genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics to become a preeminent global cluster for research, commercialization and public education. With projects valued at almost $300 million, OGI finds funds for both genomics-driven research and the commercialization of its assets, and partners in accelerating the transfer of products from the lab to the marketplace.

Founded in 1995, Performance Plants is Canada's leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on the modification of plant metabolism to produce new and improved plant varieties. Its premier technologies are based on genetic enhancements that will allow crop species to maintain high yields under adverse environmental conditions. Performance Plants is well positioned to provide yield protection and stress tolerance technologies to the global agricultural community through its strong senior management team, advanced research capabilities, intellectual property, and established strategic alliances. The Company currently employs 30 people in Kingston, ON and Saskatoon, SK.