PRESS RELEASE
Stuttgart-Mühlhausen, Germany: 12 Nov. 2007 High-tech horticulture impresses Prime Minister On his visit to the Stuttgart headquarters of Selecta Klemm GmbH & Co. KG, Günther Oettinger, Prime Minister of the state of Baden-Württemberg, described the company, as a “fantastic and innovative employer for the region”. On Monday, Oettinger toured Selecta Klemm, one of the world’s leading cultivation and propagation companies for plants reproduced using cuttings, as a guest of the the Württemberg Horticultural Union. “Three amateur flower fans are keen to find out how this industry works,” declared the Prime Minister at the start of a guided tour of Selecta Klemm. This family business was established over 40 years ago and currently employs more than 800 people worldwide, making it one of the biggest companies in the sector. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Peter Straub, President of the Baden-Württemberg Parliament, and Max Munding, Assistant Secretary of State at the Ministry for Nutrition and Rural Areas. While leading their visitors through the greenhouse and research department, Managing Directors Christian and Nils Klemm explained their breeding plans for poinsettias. Approximately 350 new varieties of this well-known plant, often referred to as the Christmas Star, are currently being tested. They also treated the politicians to a tour of the cutting-edge genetics laboratory of Ornamental Bioscience GmbH.
Managing Director Nils Klemm shows Prime Minister Oettinger some of the poinsettia varieties under development at OBS
This joint venture, established in 2006 by the German-based Selecta Group and the U.S. company Mendel Biotechnology Inc., develops and markets transgenic (genetically modified) ornamental plants. “This is genetic engineering for the benefit of the consumer,” said Nils Klemm. “The development of resistance to diseases, drought and cold weather in ornamental plants is the holy grail of biotechnology, opening up major opportunities.”
Christian Klemm used his meeting with the Prime Minister to put across his view that political and social conditions in Germany are less than ideal when it comes to encouraging this type of innovation.
“Throughout the world, there are currently 209 varieties of genetically enhanced plants but only one of these can be found in Europe.”
Because a range of regulations restricts the introduction of high-performance, sustainable varieties in Europe, the most important sales markets for Ornamental Bioscience GmbH are outside Europe, in particular in the U.S.A., said Klemm. “There is potential for major growth if we are given a fair chance to utilise technological developments fully and break into European markets,” he stressed. He also had a very specific request to make of Oettinger. “It would be a great help to us if you could champion our arguments in Berlin and Brussels.”
Having been impressed by the commercial activities and R&D work of the Selecta Group during his first visit to a high-tech horticultural business, the Prime Minister assured his hosts that he would do all he could to support this innovative industry. He also promised to speak to Elisabeth Jeggle, member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, and make her aware of Ornamental Bioscience and the work it does.
Ornamental Bioscience GmbH has so far been working with plants from the Selecta product range, including petunias, poinsettias, impatiens (busy lizzies) and geraniums. “It won’t take two legislative periods to get our first transgenic poinsettia creations onto the market,” said Managing Director Nils Klemm. “When we get there in 2012, we will be much closer to our goal of meeting demands on the international ornamental plant market.”
BioRegio STERN Management GmbH has supported the company’s development from the very outset and has played a key role in its success.
About the Selecta Group www.selectaworld.comFamily business Selecta Klemm GmbH & Co. KG is one of the world’s leading cultivation and propagation companies in the field of vegetatively reproducible ornamental plants. Selecta has acquired numerous patents and plant variety protection rights for cut flowers and bedding, balcony and pot plants over the past 40 years. Selecta has seven main sites with production, cultivation and sales facilities; the headquarters are in Stuttgart.
Selecta has been active in biotechnology since 1996. Selecta Klemm was involved in the Australian company Florigene’s development of the blue carnation, which is as yet the only transgenic ornamental plant that has been approved for production and marketing in Europe. The Selecta Group comprises nine companies and uses 83 hectares of cultivable land to develop some 50 new varieties of bedding and balcony plants. There are currently eight new poinsettias and 15 new varieties of cut flowers with constantly improving features each year for growers and consumers. The group employs over 800 people.
PRESS RELEASE
July, 2007 Dr. Robert Boehm appointed Head of Reasearch and Development
In July 2007, Dr. Robert Boehm joined OBS as the new manager of research and development. With him, OBS gained remarkable expertise in plant biotechnology to realize planned projects.
After study of biology in Freiburg and Tübingen, Dr. Boehm joined Prof. Heide Schnabl's group at the Institute of Plant Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology at Bonn University to develop duckweed as expression system for recombinant therapeutic proteins (molecular farming). He spent some time at Institute of Glycobiology at Oxford University as well as at the Institute of Agricultural Genetics in Hanoi/Viet Nam to gather further experience in plant biotechnology. He has strong expertise in plant transformation and in vitro-culture and has worked as a lecturer at the universities of Bonn and Dortmund.
PRESS RELEASE
September, 2006 Selecta Klemm and Mendel Biotechnology to establish Ornamental Bioscience German-based Selecta Klemm and US-based Mendel Biotechnology Inc. today announce their definitive agreement to form a joint venture to develop and market transgenic ornamental plants. The new entity, Ornamental BioScience (www.Ornamental-BioScience.com), combines Mendel’s technological expertise and patent estate in drought, cold and freeze tolerance, disease resistance and flower stability traits along with Selecta’s experience in plant transformation technology, its extensive variety patent estate and experience in marketing ornamentals world wide. Ornamental BioScience has secured commercial rights to critical enabling technology, through Mendel, that enable it to bring transgenic ornamental plants to the marketplace. According to Christian Klemm, chairman and CEO of Ornamental BioScience: “We envision the ornamental market will undergo substantial development in the coming decade. From 1995, transgenic plants rapidly captured market in the primary agricultural food crops. Now it is time for ornamental horticulture to catch up. The global market for ornamental flowers has an annual retail value of several billion dollars. Ornamental Bioscience will apply modern biotechnology substantially to improve the characteristic traits for producer, trade and consumer to bring us premium positioning in this market. For marketing and distribution we are considering different models depending of the specific nature, market and added value of each product.” Ornamental Bioscience today is working exclusively on crops from the Selecta product range, successfully transforming Petunias, Poinsettias, New Guinea Impatiens and Geraniums. In the coming years the range of products is expected to extend greatly. We believe that this technology has an exciting future and intend to contribute to its acceptance as an industry standard. As part of this strategy, we will cooperate with leading breeders and distributors for pot plants and cut flowers. Ornamental BioScience has an exceptional opportunity to bring value to the market by combining the expertise of Mendel’s discoveries of the functions of genetic switches that control many important aspects of plant growth, metabolism and stress responses and Selecta’s experience. Over the past decade Selecta has added the skill of developing successful transformation protocol to its outstanding expertise in breeding, manufacturing and marketing ornamental plants world wide, s. About Selecta group www.selectaworld.comFamily-owned Selecta is one of the world’s leading breeding and propagation companies in the field of vegetatively-propagated ornamental plants. Over the past 40 years Selecta has created a wide estate of patents and breeder rights for cut flowers, pot, and bedding plants. Throughout the world Selecta owns seven key production, breeding and distribution locations along with other facilities. Innovation and sustainability are the driving force behind Selecta’s development. The latest testimony to this is the development and exclusive introduction of the world’s first double flowered Calibrachoa to market in 2006. Selecta has been active in the field of biotechnology since 1996. The company cooperated in developing a blue carnation in 1996 with Florigene of Australia. Blue carnations are to date the only transgenic ornamental plants manufactured and distributed throughout the world. Following this, in 2002, Selecta identified abiotic stress tolerance as a key issue for the future market and began work under a technology license from Mendel. In 2005, a disease resistance program was established. Currently transgenic Petunias, Poinsettias, New Guinea Impatiens and Geraniums are being evaluated for frost, drought and disease resistance. About Mendel Biotechnology www.Mendelbio.com
Mendel Biotechnology, Inc., a closely-held private company, has been a pioneer in the application of functional genomics to the study of plant genes. Mendel has identified and patented the use of genes (transcription factors) that control many aspects of plant growth and development, and is using such inventions to develop or co-develop new plant varieties with improved productivity and quality. The approximately 27,000 genes in the Arabidopsis genome are controlled by approximately 1,800 different transcription factors. Mendel has relationships with leading agricultural, forestry and horticulture companies for the commercialization of improved seed and plant products, and is developing new seed products for the emerging bioenergy market, focused on cellulosic ethanol. In the field of ornamentals Mendel has licensed technology exclusively to Ornamental BioScience and has become a significant minority shareholder in the new company.