Press Release | Cutting Edge Nematode Resistance Technology

Words from CEO Per Fredriksson

May 20th, 2019

In our last update, we shared our new corporate identity – “Precip Crop Science” or “PCS” – with the
world. Since then, we have been working hard to focus our resources and business strategy on the
technology areas which we believe will have the greatest societal impact and enable the sustainability
of both global food sources and our company.

The team at PCS has diverse and world-class research competence in the field of agriculture
technology. Among the most promising of these is our cutting edge expertise in RNAi gene editing
technologies, which can be used for the inhibition of traits crucial for plant pest survival.

Parasitic nematodes are one type of plant pest which pose a significant threat to the sustainability of
agriculture. The problem causes greater than 10%1 yield loss in corn, soybeans, and cotton. They are
causing much more damage annually compared to insect pests and farmers are struggling to
overcome this challenging problem. This is particularly relevant in the US where nematode pests are
particularly pervasive.

There are currently a number of different potential solutions to the problem on the market –
including breeding of resistant crops, chemical nematicides, and cultural methods. Currently,
chemical remedies are the most widely used defence against nematodes. While they are somewhat
effective, these nematicides have significant drawbacks and limitations.

At PCS, we are currently developing a new solution to inhibit nematode survival. We are working to
develop RNAi technologies to regulate targeted genes. By pairing this with our expertise in
implementing these new gene constructs into plant varieties, we will be able to offer a new
mechanism for the inhibition of nematodes. This may be used in isolation or together with existing
methods of nematode suppression. In the future, the potential application areas for this underlying
technology are vast and could be used to protect a wide range of crops from a wide range of pests.

It is this type of innovation that exemplifies PCS’s ability to extract real value from groundbreaking
agriscience research within academia and facilitate real-world applications with industry. We are
very excited to see this promising technology become a commercial reality very soon.

If you would like further information about PCS or would like to partner with us on this exciting
project, please contact us!

Sincerely,

Per Fredriksson
CEO, Precip Crop Science AB

1 Ferris, Howard. “Nematodes and Plant Damage.” University of California, 1 Oct. 2015. Web.
http://plpnemweb.ucdavis.edu/nemaplex/Plntpara/damage.htm