American Cyanamid Company, and Northwest Plant Breeding Company (NPB) today announced they have signed a collaborative research and development agreement which will provide farmers with new herbicide tolerant varieties of wheat, the single largest global agricultural crop.

This initiative utilizes Cyanamid's expertise in herbicide tolerant crops and weed control with NPB's expertise in plant breeding and seed conversion technology. Through this collaboration the conversion expertise of Northwest Plant Breeding Company will be made available to other seed companies as well as university breeding programs.

"We're very excited to be working with Dr. Cal Konzak and his staff under this new agreement,'' said Scott Gaddis, Director of CLEARFIELD* wheat for American Cyanamid. "We can now utilize
Northwest Plant Breeding Company's unique and exceptional ability to convert conventional wheat lines to imidazolinone tolerance, as well as provide this valuable technology resource to other seed collaborators globally. This will greatly expand and accelerate the development of existing and new, non-transgenic, wheat varieties for use in the CLEARFIELD* Production System,'' adds Gaddis.

Since the first imidazolinone tolerant crop was launched in 1992, thousands of growers have taken advantage of the benefits of imidazolinone technology -- broad spectrum, season long, weed control that helps farmers maximize yields.

The imidazolinones are a unique family of crop protection products for weed control that were
developed by Cyanamid Agricultural Products Research Division. The imidazolinones work on an
enzyme that is present in plants but not in animals, birds, fish or insects. This selectivity makes the CLEARFIELD herbicides environmentally compatible while providing outstanding weed control.

Under this cooperative agreement the conversion of the wheat lines will take place in the Pullman, Washington labs of Northwest Plant Breeding, with the follow-up evaluations being conducted at Cyanamid's research facility in Princeton, NJ and other sites around the world. The NPB conversion technology can be applied to all classes of wheat. The first varieties resulting from this collaboration are expected to be released by 2002.

"We look forward to being a key partner with Cyanamid in making the imidazolinone tolerant,
CLEARFIELD system technology, a reality in wheat,'' said Cal Konzak Ph.D., President and CEO of Northwest Plant Breeding Company. "Working together, we have the ability to develop CLEARFIELD varieties that fit most major wheat producing areas of the world.''

The Cyanamid/Northwest Plant Breeding Company agreement is one of the most recent efforts by
Cyanamid and collaborators to develop and market herbicide tolerant crops in the CLEARFIELD
Production System. Through collaborations, in both genetics and technology, Cyanamid maintains the broadest portfolio of non-transgenic herbicide tolerant traits. Cyanamid was the first to market a herbicide tolerant crop with the release of imidazolinone tolerant corn in 1992, followed by imidazolinone tolerant canola, known as SMART® canola, in Canada in 1995.

American Cyanamid Company is a subsidiary of American Home Products Corporation, which is one of the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical and health care product companies. AHP is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription
drugs and over-the-counter medications. It is also a global leader in vaccines, biotechnology, agricultural products, and animal health care.

Northwest Plant Breeding Company is registered in Washington State as an S-Corporation. The company, developed by Calvin F. Konzak, Ph.D., President and CEO, is based on the knowledge and research ideas evolved following his experience as a cereal breeder and Professor of Genetics and Agronomy at Washington State University. Research at NPB is devoted to breeding, innovative technologies, new crop plant varieties and special methods to improve the efficiency of crop plant research. Wheat of all kinds are a major focus. NPB was awarded a USDA Small Business Innovations Research grant for research completed in 1999. Products of NPB's research are being licensed for production internationally as identity-preserved products, benefiting growers, manufacturers and consumers.

The UNIQUE CLEARFIELD SYMBOL, CLEARFIELD, and SMART are trademarks of American Cyanamid Company.

Company news release
N2278