Syngenta Refutes Monsanto Lawsuit As Without Merit

ANITA GREIL / Dow Jones Newswires 13may04

Edited Press Release

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BASEL—Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta AG (SYT) said Thursday it considers a lawsuit filed against it by U.S. competitor Monsanto Co. (MON) as groundless.

"This case is totally without merit," said David Jones, Head of Business Development at Syngenta. "We are delighted to have secured worldwide ownership of commercially proven glyphosate tolerance technology for corn which we intend to make available to growers in the 2005 season. We are entirely satisfied with our decision and have the intellectual property rights we need to commercialize this product. Monsanto's lawsuit is a flagrant attempt to intimidate customers and restrict choice in the market."

Syngenta had announced on May 12 that it had acquired rights to a commercially successful glyphosate tolerance technology in corn from Bayer CropScience, a unit of Bayer AG (BAY) in Germany.

The technology, called GA21, enables farmers to control weeds in corn with post emergence applications of the nonselective herbicide glyphosate.

Syngenta will offer the technology in its NK brand hybrids, through the Garst brand1 and through licenses with other seed companies from 2005.

Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2003 were approximately $6.6 billion. Syngenta employs some 19,000 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT).