Corteva, Pairwise Join Forces to Accelerate Gene Editing, Advance Climate Resilience in Agriculture

Below is an update originally shared with our newsletter audience, capturing recent progress across Pairwise’s products, platform, and policy momentum.

Early Market Validation of Our Berry Business

This year marked an important milestone for the power of our Fulcrum® platform: the first outdoor field trials for blackberry. These trials allow us to observe performance across two distinct growing environments, the US and Colombia, and begin translating our genetics into real-world production settings. Learnings from this season will help shape the broader field program planned for the coming years.​

Early observations from both sites have been incredibly encouraging. Our high-density production system has the potential to reshape economics in the caneberry category. The compact blackberry may not only reduce land use but also increase yields by 50+% based on our greenhouse trials. While still early in the outdoor field trials, the initial signals give us confidence in our path toward future commercialization and in reaching the next set of technical and commercial milestones in 2026.​

This year, we hit another powerful milestone: the first commercial sale of edited blackberries in the world. In Colombia, working with a Production Partner and Retailers, the berries have been sold to consumers, who have responded positively to the fruit. Each clamshell includes a QR code that links consumers directly to information on blackberries and the technology behind them, ensuring transparency and helping introduce consumers to the benefits of innovation in fresh produce. This early market validation adds to our confidence in the significant berry opportunities ahead.

The Innovation is Real, Translational and Accelerating

One of the newest additions to our greenhouses is our seedless blackberry — a juicy, delicious berry without the tough seeds that pops in your mouth. This incredible berry represents a true game-changer for specialty crops. Again and again in the market, we’ve seen that seedlessness outperforms; people love convenient, snackable fruits.

This thesis is also a core part of the joint venture we launched with Sun World International in September, where together we’re working to create the world’s first pitless cherry. Traditionally, breeding something like this could take a century. We believe we can achieve it in a decade. (See Bloomberg article about our partnership here).

Innovation in agriculture has historically run on century-long timelines. We're demonstrating in real time that doesn't have to be the case. Our platform approach to AgTech enables the architecture of continuous innovation. When we compress breeding cycles and translate traits across crops, we open possibilities that weren't feasible in entire categories – from sustainability and disease tolerance to nutrition and yield. The sky, not the edge of the field, is the limit.

Global Adoption of Fulcrum® Platform Continues

Over the past six months, we've signed agreements with organizations that continue to validate the value of genome editing and Pairwise’s Fulcrum® platform. Each one of these is proof that our proprietary CRISPR platform is becoming an essential infrastructure. These include:

• Academic licenses signed with Kansas State and University of Wisconsin
• International Rice Research Institute: Global research to support rice as a staple crop
• Mars: Research in cacao (See CNBC article here)
• Genus: Validation of our technology beyond plant applications – a first!
• Enza Zaden: A Netherlands-based global vegetable seed company that is using Fulcrum in its research, reflecting growing adoption of genome editing/NGTs in Europe (See the Packer article here)

Here is a snapshot of our current licensing footprint:

Game-Changing Policy Progress in the EU

A policy agreement was reached, paving the way for opening the European market to edited plant varieties for both cultivation and import. A final vote still needs to occur, which is expected in late Q1/early Q2 of 2026, but the policy the European Council and the European Parliament agreed upon creates a category for these plants to enter the market with no patent restrictions, food labeling, or traceability requirements. After the vote, the European Commission will embark upon writing the regulations, which is expected to take approximately 24 months. We eagerly await the opening of the European market!

This is only part of our work. Catch us at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in SF March 17-18, 2026 and find future updates of our whereabouts on LinkedIn.

Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, and Durham, North Carolina (November 17, 2025) — Enza Zaden, a global leader in vegetable breeding that develops and supplies innovative vegetable seeds for growers worldwide, today announced a strategic agreement to license Pairwise’s Fulcrum® Platform, a suite of precision plant breeding tools.

“At Enza Zaden, our mission is to grant people everywhere access to healthy vegetables by developing high-quality varieties and seeds,” said Jaap Mazereeuw, CEO of Enza Zaden. “This collaboration reflects our commitment to breakthrough plant science and responsible innovation to benefit growers, consumers, and the environment. Pairwise’s Fulcrum® Platform equips us with advanced tools for research, strengthening our ongoing focus on sustainability and creating value for our customers.”

Enza Zaden is currently focused on evaluating gene editing for research purposes in vegetable crops. While the agreement covers both research and potential future commercialization, Enza Zaden has no immediate plans for a commercial launch. Any future commercialization will depend on regulatory developments, market readiness, and company strategy. Enza Zaden supports regulatory developments that enable responsible use of gene editing and will consider commercialization when legislation, market readiness, and company strategy are aligned.

“Enza Zaden has a long tradition of developing innovative vegetable varieties. We’re proud to support them in accelerating the natural potential of crops with cutting-edge tools," said Tom Adams, CEO of Pairwise. "Gene editing is a precise, modern breeding method that complements traditional approaches, enabling breeders to achieve results faster while addressing key challenges like sustainability and disease resistance. Gene editing represents a vital tool for advancing resilient, climate-smart crops that align with sustainable agriculture goals.”

Pairwise’s Fulcrum® Platform is becoming the preferred CRISPR toolbox across the agriculture value chain, proven to work in diverse crop types. By integrating advanced gene editing tools with a strong intellectual property portfolio, the platform enables accelerated agricultural innovation worldwide.

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About Enza Zaden

Enza Zaden is a family-owned, international vegetable-breeding company with headquarters in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands. Founded in 1938, the company develops innovative, high-quality vegetable varieties and seeds for more than 30 crops. Each year, Enza Zaden introduces around 100 new varieties that help growers worldwide produce healthy, diverse, and sustainable food. With research facilities and subsidiaries across the globe, Enza Zaden is committed to innovation, sustainability, and ensuring access to healthy vegetables for people everywhere.

Enza Zaden’s portfolio includes more than 30 vegetable crops, from lettuce and tomato to cucumber, broccoli, and onions. Branded product concepts such as Eazyleaf® multi-leaf lettuce, Tribelli® sweet peppers, easyQs® mini cucumbers, and TomAzur® blight-resistant tomatoes showcase the company’s ability to connect advanced science with practical solutions for growers and consumers. For more information, visit www.enzazaden.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 innovations that make food easier to grow and better to eat. For more information, visit www.pairwise.com.

Durham, NC and Los Baños, Philippines (November  4, 2025) – Pairwise has licensed its Fulcrum® gene editing platform to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a non-profit agricultural research organization. The agreement will enable IRRI to apply CRISPR technology to develop rice varieties with higher yields, greater climate resilience, and enhanced nutritional value, including research aimed at supporting healthier diets. These innovations will complement and strengthen IRRI's ongoing breeding programs.

"This partnership marks an exciting step for IRRI's breeding initiatives," said Dr. Inez Slamet-Loedin, Principal Scientist for Biotechnology. “It reinforces our commitment to using the latest breeding innovations to deliver results faster. By responsibly applying advanced tools, we can speed up the development of rice varieties that improve productivity, resilience, and nutrition for farmers and consumers around the world.”

"We're honored to partner with IRRI, a world-renowned leader in rice research, to bring our Fulcrum technology to one of humanity's most vital crops," said Ian Miller, COO of Pairwise. "This collaboration will accelerate rice innovation and create tangible benefits for farmers and consumers worldwide."

Under the agreement, IRRI will have nonexclusive rights to use the Fulcrum suite of CRISPR-based genome-editing technologies, including the SHARC™ enzyme system, for research, development, dissemination, and commercial applications in rice. The Fulcrum platform has already enabled innovations such as seedless and compact blackberries and global trait development in 14 row and specialty crops.

This is Pairwise's third licensing agreement with a CGIAR research center, following a 2025 agreement with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and a 2024partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). This agreement is backed by the CGIAR Gene Editing Initiative through the support of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK Government (FCDO),Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Gates Foundation to bring these innovations to smallholder farmers across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, while ensuring genome-editing technologies are used responsibly for public benefit.

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About the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

IRRI is dedicated to abolishing poverty and hunger among people and populations that depend on rice-based agri-food systems. Through its work and partnerships, IRRI aims to improve the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; promote environmental sustainability in a world challenged by climate change; and support the empowerment of women and youth in the rice industry. IRRI is a member of CGIAR, the world’s largest agricultural research partnership dedicated to a food-secure future. For more information, visit https://www.irri.org/.

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 non profit 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.