Mar 31, 2006

UGA faculty and graduate students honored for research, creativity

Writer: Carole VanSickle, 706/583-0599, rcomm@ovpr.uga.edu
Contact: Mary Boyd, 706/583-0444, maryboyd@uga.edu

Athens, Ga. -- University of Georgia faculty and graduate students were recognized for excellence in research and creativity at the university’s 27th Annual Research Awards Banquet on March 29. The award program is sponsored by the non-profit University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc.

INVENTOR’S AWARD

This award is presented to an inventor for a creative and innovative discovery that has made an impact on the community. This year’s recipient is Michael Adang.

Adang, a professor of entomology, biochemistry and molecular biology, studies insects that have natural tolerance for or an acquired resistance to toxins that are typically used to protect crops. As an inventor in this field, he created technologies resulting in twelve patents. While conducting research at UGA with funding from the Georgia Research Alliance, the U.S Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health, Adang discovered a new protein that increases the effectiveness of the bioinsecticide Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt). His discovery, which he calls “Bt-Booster,” expands the range of insects that Bt works against and reduces the amount required to be effective. The benefits are higher crop yields and less environmental impact. InsectiGen, a new biotech company based at UGA’s Georgia BioBusiness Center, has been formed to commercialize Bt-Booster as a biological control agent.

Dec. 9, 2005

InsectiGen Closes on More Than $1 Million Funding

Support for Athens-Based Company Comes from Private Sector and State Fund

InsectiGen, an Athens, Ga.-based biotechnology company, today announced that it closed on a round of venture funding totaling $1.16 million, allowing it to hire additional researchers and continue developing its bio-pesticide products.

 This is the second big announcement for the young company this year.  In July, InsectiGen licensed its patented BtBooster™ technology for cotton to Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a subsidiary of DuPont, for use in making better pest-resistant crops.

 “This round of funding will allow us to develop our bio-pesticides business and hire a director of research and development,” said InsectiGen CEO Cliff Baile, who is also a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Agricultural Biotechnology and Distinguished Professor of Animal Science and Foods and Nutrition at the University of Georgia. “With the support of the University, the GRA, and the State of Georgia, we continue to move our technology and business forward.”

 Funds came from the Georgia Venture Partners Seed Fund and the Georgia Biosciences Seed Capital Fund, which both invest in promising early-stage companies.  These two institutional investments amounted to approximately $550,000, with the remainder coming from individual angel investors.

 “One of the best ways for Georgia to compete in the global economy is for the state to grow its own innovation-based businesses,” said Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. “This is a great example of how Georgia’s model has worked.”

 The investment was one of the first for the $3 million Georgia Biosciences Seed Capital Fund, which was raised to help accelerate the formation and growth of bioscience companies in Georgia.  The fund invests only as part of a larger deal involving private investors; each state dollar from the fund must be leveraged to bring in at least three dollars in private investment.

 "The availability of seed capital in Georgia is essential to building the state's community of life sciences companies," said Wayne Hodges, Georgia Tech's vice provost for Economic Development and Technology Ventures.  "We are pleased that the Georgia Biosciences Seed Capital Fund is helping grow companies like InsectiGen."

 Developed by Michael Adang, UGA Professor of Entomology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, InsectiGen’s licensed BtBooster™ technology has the potential to help increase worldwide crop yields and farm level productivity.  The BtBooster™ product can be effective against pests in both biotech crops and plant surface applications.  Adang also serves as the company’s chief scientific officer.

 InsectiGen has been supported in its early stages by the GRA through its Venture Lab and Innovation Fund programs. 

“This is an exciting outcome for InsectiGen that will help Georgia growers and citizens,” said GRA President and CEO Mike Cassidy.  “Recruiting the right talent and using a strong network of support to transform a discovery into a commercial product is what GRA is all about.”

 Both UGA and GRA provided laboratory equipment, a willing supply of researchers and graduate students, grant funding and facilities for the company during the development of the BtBooster™ technology.

 “InsectiGen is an exciting new Georgia agbio company, with superb scientific leadership from Cliff Baile and Mike Adang", said John Richard, managing director of Georgia Venture Partners.  "Biotechnology solutions for crop protection are making extraordinary contributions to the agricultural industry, and we believe InsectiGen can be a leader in bringing next generation technology to the marketplace.”

 JULY, 2005

Georgia Biotech Start-Up Announces Licensing Agreement with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

Athens-Based InsectiGen Receives Validation for Its BtBooster^™ Product

 InsectiGen, an Athens, Ga.-based biotechnology company, today announced that its patented BtBooster® technology has been licensed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a subsidiary of DuPont, for use in making better pest-resistant crops. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

 Developed by University of Georgia (UGA) Researcher and InsectiGen’s Chief Science Officer, Michael Adang, the licensed BtBooster™ technology has the potential to help increase worldwide crop yields and farm level productivity. The BtBooster™ product can be effective against pests in both biotech crops and plant surface applications.

 “Farmers today place a high value on insect resistant crops,” said Jim Miller, vice president DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development. “We’re excited about the possibilities this technology offers in order to help our customers maximize their harvestable yields and ultimately be more profitable.”

 According to InsectiGen President Robert Ligon, the agreement with Pioneer is a significant step for the young company.

 “This agreement is validation for our technology and years of hard work by our team,” said Ligon, who joined InsectiGen after a stint as a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Venture Fellow, where he helped the company develop its business plan. “A solid licensing agreement helps reduce the risk factor inherent with any start-up. We expect investors and the industry to start taking notice of this product.”

 “Without the help and support of the University of Georgia and the Georgia Research Alliance, we would not have made it to where we are today,” Ligon continued. “Thanks to their backing, we’re looking forward to our next step: raising capital, setting up new offices and building a team to help us develop our other biopesticide and crop protection products.” 

 Both the UGA and GRA provided laboratory equipment, a willing supply of researchers and graduate students, grant funding and facilities for the company during the development of the BtBooster™ technology.

  “Our BtBooster™ represents a breakthrough discovery that will enable a leap to the next generation of biopesticides and crops developed through biotechnology,” said Cliff Baile, InsectiGen’s chief executive officer and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Agricultural Biotechnology and distinguished professor of animal science and foods and nutrition at the University of Georgia. ”

 InsectiGen’s scientific founders, Adang and Donald Dean, have played pivotal roles in the discovery and advancement of Bt technologies. In 1995 Adang demonstrated a method of designing a synthetic Bt gene suitable for expressing high concentrations of Bt toxins in plants and was awarded a patent for his breakthrough invention. Dean has developed groundbreaking improvements in Bt toxicity and target range extension against mosquitoes that carry human disease. Additionally, Baile, has founded seven biotechnology companies.