Sun World International and Pairwise Launch Strategic Partnership to Develop a Holy Grail of Produce – the Pitless Cherry

Sun World International and Pairwise today announced the formation of a joint venture to collaborate in specialty fruit, beginning with the development of a pitless cherry.  Sun World will have exclusive commercial rights to these genetics as they seek a first-to-market position in high-quality pitless cherries. The partnership leverages Sun World’s fruit breeding and licensing expertise with Pairwise’s Fulcrum® platform. As part of the agreement, Sun World will make strategic investments to fund development.

In addition to maximizing yield and mitigating against climate change, one of Sun World’s north stars is providing a demonstrably superior consumer eating experience in every way including optimizing convenience. Sun World has a rich heritage of pioneering convenience-focused innovations, beginning with the SUPERIOR SEEDLESS® table grape in 1972, the Sun World seedless watermelon in 1988, countless contributions to their seedless table grape range over three decades, the commercialization of seedlessness in easy-peel mandarins, and the introduction of the seedless lemon.

“Our focus has long been on offering truly differentiated genetics to our growers with exceptional new traits, flavors, texture and convenience,” said Bernardo Calvo, Sun World’s CEO. “Developing a high-quality pitless cherry is a natural innovation evolution for us and in Pairwise, we’ve found an extraordinary partner already well down this quite complex path.”

Pairwise, which has developed the world's first seedless blackberry, brings an unmatched platform that accelerates the development of in-demand crop traits. Traditional breeding involves a lengthy process, but this approach creates a faster path to fruits that consumers will enjoy while providing growers with crops that offer greater sustainability, improved disease resistance, and higher yields.

"This is a segment of agriculture where there's tremendous opportunity to bring meaningful innovation," said Dr. Tom Adams, CEO of Pairwise. "Sun World has built one of the most successful commercial pipelines in fruit genetics.  Combining that expertise with the precision and efficiency of Pairwise’s Fulcrum platform allows us to address unmet consumer and grower needs in a way that hasn't been possible before."

Pairwise will lead the R&D effort, while Sun World contributes its germplasm, breeding infrastructure, and commercial market access. The joint venture is already advancing development work and may explore additional strategic partnerships. In addition to its focus on consumer traits, the collaboration aligns with broader industry efforts to use advanced plant breeding to support sustainable agriculture, reduce waste, and create higher-value outcomes for both consumers and producers.

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About Sun World  

Sun World International is a global fruit variety development and licensing company, propelled by emerging technologies, and rooted since its inception in the principles of sustainability. Sun World pioneered seedless grape varietal development and formalized their fruit genetics program three decades ago. Sun World specializes in table grapes, mandarins, mangoes, stone fruit and cherries and is part of the Bridgepoint Group of private equity investors. www.sun-world.com.  

About Pairwise

Pairwise is agriculture’s gene editing powerhouse, building a healthier world through partnership and plant innovation. Co-founded by the inventors of CRISPR, our Fulcrum® Platform accelerates the development of climate-resilient, nutritious, and sustainable crops. As trusted partners to global industry leaders and nonprofit institutions, we help breeders move faster while transforming food and agriculture for farmers, consumers, and the planet. Founded in 2017 and based in Durham, NC, Pairwise is committed to delivering innovation that makes food easier to grow and better to eat. For more information, visit www.pairwise.com.

Mars, Incorporated has licensed Pairwise's Fulcrum® gene editing tools for cacao research and development. This licensing agreement grants Mars access to Pairwise's CRISPR tools, including the SHARC™ enzyme. The Pairwise Fulcrum™ platform encompasses gene editing tools, enzymes and trait libraries, enabling precise changes that unlock the plant’s inherent potential. This capability significantly accelerates the development of impactful crop traits compared to traditional breeding methods, allowing for the activation or deactivation of characteristics and fine-tuning traits, much like adjusting a dimmer switch to achieve optimal results.  

Mars aims to develop this advanced plant breeding technology to improve cacao production and effectively tackle agricultural challenges. The ultimate goal is to help address the pressures cacao faces globally from climate variability, plant diseases and environmental stresses. This strategic initiative underscores the potential of this technology to drive meaningful advancements in agriculture.  

"At Mars, we believe CRISPR has the potential to improve crops in ways that support and strengthen global supply chains," said Carl Jones, Plant Sciences Director at Mars. "Our focus is to transparently and responsibly conduct CRISPR research in plant science that helps crops better adapt to climate challenges, disease pressures and resource constraints."  

"We're pleased to provide Mars with access to our Fulcrum™ platform for their cacao research and development initiatives," said Ian Miller, Chief Operating Officer at Pairwise. "Plant breeding innovation has the potential to help address important agricultural challenges, and we look forward to supporting Mars' research goals."  

The Pairwise Fulcrum® platform includes gene editing tools, enzymes and trait libraries, enabling precise changes that unlock the plant’s inherent potential to greatly accelerate the development of impactful crop traits compared to traditional breeding methods.
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About Pairwise  

Pairwise is agriculture’s gene editing powerhouse, building a healthier world through partnership and plant innovation. Co-founded by the inventors of CRISPR, our Fulcrum™ Platform accelerates the development of climate-resilient, nutritious, and sustainable crops. As trusted partners to global industry leaders and nonprofit institutions, we help breeders move faster while transforming food and agriculture for farmers, consumers, and the planet. Founded in 2017 and based in Durham, NC, Pairwise is committed to delivering innovation that makes food easier to grow and better to eat. For more information, visit www.pairwise.com.

Indianapolis and Durham, N.C. (Sept 17th 2024) – Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA), a global leader in agricultural technology and Pairwise, a technology company pioneering the application of gene editing in food and agriculture, announced a collaboration today to accelerate the delivery of advanced gene editing solutions to farmers, ultimately benefitting both the environment and everyday consumers. Gene editing uses a plant’s own DNA to make precise improvements, providing growers with another critical tool to keep pace with the challenges facing food production, including those presented by climate change.

Anchoring the collaboration is Corteva’s $25 million equity investment in Pairwise, made under the umbrella of Corteva Catalyst, the company’s new investment and partnership platform focused on accessing agricultural innovation to drive value creation. The investment aims to help expand the reach and benefits of gene editing to a wide variety of staple and specialty crops.

In addition, Corteva and Pairwise have formed a joint venture to accelerate and expand the delivery of advanced gene edited technologies aimed at increasing crop yield for food, fuel and fiber production, despite increasing climate change.

The joint venture, which spans five years, will leverage both companies’ advanced gene editing capabilities to accelerate the pace of gene edited products by generating and evaluating unique gene edits across multiple traits in a range of crops. Building on Corteva’s longstanding leadership in plant breeding and genetics, the companies will collaborate on the development and deployment of gene edited products that are more resilient to extreme weather events and climate change.

“Gene editing is a transformational technology for agriculture that will advance climate resilience in food production and drive the increased farm productivity required to effectively feed and fuel the world’s growing population,” said Sam Eathington, Corteva’s chief technology and digital officer. “As a gene editing technology leader ourselves, we are proud to work with Pairwise to accelerate the benefits of gene editing not only to farmers, but ultimately to those who rely on the availability of sustainably grown and affordable food – and that’s all of us.”

“Gene editing is poised to revolutionize agriculture, enabling the cultivation of crops that are more adaptive to climate change, are more nutritious and convenient for consumers, and deliver greater economics for growers,” said Tom Adams, Pairwise Co-Founder and CEO. “Through our Fulcrum™ Platform, we’re proud to be at the helm of applying this transformative technology in agriculture and, alongside partners like Corteva, accelerate the realization of these benefits across global stakeholders.”

Pairwise is a leader in using gene editing to make differentiated crops. Last year, the company launched the first CRISPR food in North America, and has multiple products in development across significant crops, including corn, soy, wheat, canola, blackberries, and more. The Pairwise Fulcrum™ Platform includes proprietary gene editing tools that provide the ability to not only turn a characteristic on or off but also, with base editing and related technologies, “tune” it to find it’s sweet spot for highest performance. Pairwise’s novel editing tools allow scientists to precisely tailor a wide range of genetic variation to develop new, distinctive plant varieties much faster and more effectively than through conventional breeding alone.

This is the first joint venture and major equity investment in gene editing made by Corteva Catalyst, the company’s new investment and partnership platform. The investment reflects Corteva’s nearly century-long track record (through its Pioneer brand) of championing innovation through partnerships, including with the global scientific community.

‍About Corteva:

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) is a publicly traded, global pure-play agriculture company that combines industry- leading innovation, high-touch customer engagement and operational execution to profitably deliver solutions for the world’s most pressing agriculture challenges. Corteva generates advantaged market preference through its unique distribution strategy, together with its balanced and globally diverse mix of seed, crop protection, and digital products and services. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture and a technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the company is committed to maximizing productivity for farmers, while working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.

Media Contacts: 

Corteva:

Bethany Shively

Bethany.shively@corteva.com

(202) 997-9438