Strategic Partners

Monsanto

Mendel's most important customer and collaborator for our technology business is Monsanto Corporation, the leading agricultural biotechnology company in the world. Approximately 90% of the transgenic plants grown on more than 250 million acres worldwide contain technology developed and controlled by Monsanto. Mendel's long-term technology collaboration with Monsanto was initiated in 1997. Under the terms of the current agreement, Monsanto has exclusive royalty-bearing licenses to Mendel technology in certain large-acreage crops and vegetables. Monsanto's successful commercialization of products incorporating Mendel's technology will result in milestone and royalty payments. Monsanto's most advanced soybean yield trait technology, a Mendel-developed technology, has advanced into Phase II development based on excellent field results (August 6, 2007 press release). In addition, the companies have initiated a systems biology program to develop an integrated framework for predictive control of plant gene expression that is anticipated to streamline discovery and product development activities.

The interests of Mendel and Monsanto are highly aligned and the companies have established very effective mechanisms of collaboration, including the exchange of extensive proprietary information from Monsanto's internal research program. Under the agreement, Monsanto also provides Mendel with commercial rights to key technologies that permit rational genetic improvement of plants, which enable Mendel to directly commercialize its own products.

BP

Mendel and BP entered into a strategic long-term collaboration in May 2007 for the development of a BioEnergy Seeds and Feedstocks business. The focus of the collaboration is the development and commercialization of seed products, both conventional and biotech varieties, for dedicated energy crops such as Miscanthus and switchgrass. This business is intended to serve the emerging 2nd generation biofuels industry both in the United States and abroad.

Under the terms of the current agreement, Mendel owns the technology developed through the collaboration, Mendel owns and operates the seed and feedstock business, and BP receives royalties on seed sales.

Bayer CropScience

In early 2008, Mendel announced a new research partnership with Bayer CropScience. The program is a continuation of previous joint activities which focused on the elucidation of stress response mode of actions of Bayer agrochemicals like Imidacloprid and Trifloxystrobin. The new program aims to discover and develop further chemical products that regulate plant stress tolerance, leveraging Mendel's knowledge of plant transcription factor pathways with the expertise of Bayer CropScience as a leader in agricultural chemistry.

Others

Mendel also has a number of partnerships with other market-leading companies in crops such as ornamentals and forestry. These include:

1. Selecta Klemm: A joint venture formed in 2006 —Ornamental Biosciences, Inc.— for the commercialization of ornamental crop varieties differentiated in the marketplace for improved growth and survival under a range of stresses.
2. SweTree Technologies: A collaboration for the development of improved varieties of plantation forest tree species.
3. ArborGen: A collaboration to improve stress tolerance in selected tree species.