The United States Departments of Agriculture and Energy have announced two separate awards for Agrivida's continued development of energy crops expressing cell wall-degrading enzymes. The USDA funding is part of the Biomass Research and Development Initiative while the DOE award is from the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy.

Today the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization elected new officers and 10 new board members at its meeting at BIO’s 2009 Annual Convention. “We are honored to have some of the industry’s best thinkers working closely with our membership and senior staff,” said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood. “Each of these individuals brings exceptional perspective, insight, and experience that will contribute to the health and growth of the industry, as well as the judicious oversight of BIO as a membership organization.” Mark Wong was named to BIO's Board of Directors and is a member of BIO's Food and Agriculture Governing Board.

Agrivida, Inc. announced the completion of its Series B funding, providing money for the continued development of next generation feedstocks for the fuels and chemicals industry. Although the amount of the funding was not announced, the round was led by DAG Ventures and included Northgate Capital Group, Presidio, PrairieGold Venture Partners, incTank, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, & Byers.

The Department of Energy announced an award of achievement to Agrivida for "Outstanding efforts demonstrated in the deployment of renewable energy technology." This award from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy recognizes Agrivida's excellence in the area of biofuels feedstock development. Agrivida is focused on creating the next generation of sustainable feedstocks for the production of renewable biofuels. These feedstocks incorporate Agrivida's GreenGenes^TM technology, which helps degrade lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars.

Agrivida announced today that Codon Devices Inc. has achieved the first development milestone in their collaboration.  During the first phase of the collaboration, Codon and Agrivida scientists successfully designed and engineered novel protein switches.  The "on/off" switch can be used to activate an enzyme expressed in an inactive form.  The successful effort to further develop Agrivida's GreenGenes^TM technology highlights the computational modeling and protein engineering components of Codon Devices' BioLOGIC^TM Engineering.

Under the agreement, Codon Devices utilizes its BioLOGIC^TM Engineering Platform to develop enzymes optimized for Agrivida's proprietary biofuel production technology.  The collaboration's objective is to develop and express optimized enzymes in plants that enable a controllable degradation process that will be used to produce renewable fuels and chemicals.

"We believe this is the first time that a protein has been regulated using a distinct thermally activated protein element," stated Brian M. Baynes, Ph.D., Codon Devices' founder and President.  "This work highlights the strength and creativity of these scientific teams."

"This is indeed an impressive achievement, and we have had great success working with the Codon Devices team," noted R. Michael Raab, Ph.D., founder and Chief Executive Officer of Agrivida, Inc.  "This accomplishment is accelerating our research as we continue our development of plant traits and technology for the production of biofuels.  The development of an effective protein switch has broad implications for the use of optimized proteins across a number plant species, as well as a variety of industries, including bioenergy."

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Agrivida was a recipient of a Biomass Research and Development Grant for up to $982,589. The grant purpose is to study altered plant compositions for improved biofuel production. This will include analysis of rice straw, sorghum, and switchgrass performance in specific U.S. regions.

The Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) is the multi-agency effort to coordinate and accelerate all Federal biobased products and bioenergy research and development. These projects specifically aim to address critical barriers to making production of biomass more efficient and cost-effective.

Today, Agrivida, Inc., announced that it has entered into an agreement with Codon Devices Inc. for the discovery, development, and commercialization of engineered proteins for use in biofuel applications. Under the terms of this agreement, Codon Devices will deliver to Agrivida optimized enzymes for biofuels production.

Agrivida, an agricultural biotechnology company, is developing corn varieties optimized for producing ethanol, a clean renewable biofuel. Under the agreement, Codon Devices will utilize its BioLOGIC^TM Engineering Platform to develop enzymes optimized for use in Agrivida's proprietary ethanol production technology. Traditional methods for manufacturing ethanol make use of the corn grain only, leaving the remaining plant material, such as the corn leaves, stalks, and husks in the field. Central to Agrivida's ethanol-optimized corn technology are engineered enzymes that are incorporated into the corn plants themselves. These enzymes will efficiently degrade the entire mass of plant material into small sugars that can then be readily converted to ethanol. The optimized enzymes that Codon Devices will develop with its BioLOGIC^TM Engineering Platform will incorporate Agrivida's GreenGenes^TM technology, allowing Agrivida to dramatically enhance cellulose degradation.

"We have been working with Codon Devices over the past several months and we are thrilled with this new opportunity to partner with Codon and leverage its BioLOGIC^TM Platform in our own research and development." said Michael Raab, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Agrivida. "Codon Devices' development of these enzymes will help advance our development and commercialization of technologies that will dramatically improve ethanol production."

"This collaboration underscores the value of our BioLOGIC^TM Engineering Platform for the rapid development of superior proteins with desired properties, such as enzymes with highly specialized functions," said Brian M. Baynes, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Codon Devices. "With traditional approaches to developing such enzymes, this would be a one to two year project with no certainty of the outcome. In contrast, using our BioLOGIC^TM Engineering Platform, we expect to be able to deliver these optimized enzymes to Agrivida in six to nine months."

Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that Agrivida was a recipient of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for 2007. The NSF's competitive SBIR program supports "high quality projects on important scientific, engineering, or science/engineering education problems and opportunities that could lead to significant commercial and public benefit." Agrivida's grant will help fund the screening of Agrivida's proprietary, biomass-degrading enzymes in corn. This is Agrivida's third SBIR from the NSF.

Today, Agrivida's CEO R. Michael Raab was named to the Technology Review's 2006 top 35 Young Innovators Under 35. The TR35 is an annual honor bestowed by the Technology Review editors and judges on "young innovators whose inventions and research [they] find most exciting." Michael's award was given predominantly in recognition for his work on Agrivida's GreenGenes^TM technology. This year's judges comprised numerous scientists and engineers including past TR35 honorees and Nobel laureates.

Today, Mike Lanahan joined Agrivida to manage the company's strategic planning and business development. Mike comes to us from Syngenta, where he played a key role in business development, new business strategy, investment selection, and product development. With over 15 years of experience, his understanding of seed and agricultural processing businesses is a major asset to Agrivida team.

Today, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) Executive Director Mitchell Adams announced $1.4 million in funding from the state's Renewable Energy Trust to support four clean energy companies. The infusion of capital will help companies that are developing new clean energy technologies and products including solar, fuel cells and biomass. Agrivida was awarded $300,000 through a highly competitive process including a peer review process and a review by an independent panel of investment experts. Agrivida was the Trust's only investment in biomass technologies.

Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that Agrivida was a recipient of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for 2006. The NSF's competitive SBIR program supports "high quality projects on important scientific, engineering, or science/engineering education problems and opportunities that could lead to significant commercial and public benefit." Agrivida's grant will help fund the screening of Agrivida's proprietary, biomass-degrading enzymes in corn. This is Agrivida's second SBIR from the NSF.

Today, Agrivida announced that it has joined the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE). ACE is a national, non-profit organization of more than 700 members in 43 states, including ethanol producers, farmers, investors, agriculture organizations, businesses that supply goods and services to the ethanol industry, and individuals who support increased production and use of ethanol. Organized by grassroots ethanol supporters in 1988, ACE promotes the increased production and use of ethanol. ACE educates the public and the media, develops new markets for ethanol, and reaches out to petroleum marketers and to policymakers at the state and federal level.

Today, members of Agrivida hosted a round-table discussion at the Annual Meeting of the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research. The focus of the round-table discussion was to provide more information to academic and industrial researchers about Agrivida's products, projects, and development, and to form further research collaborations. Attendees at the meeting including researchers from the University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, University of Florida, and researchers from Dow Agrosciences and Monsanto.

Today, Dr. Jefferson W. Tester joined Agrivida's Advisory Board. Dr. Tester is the H.P. Meissner Professor of Chemical Engineering and former Director of the Laboratory for Energy and Environment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has authored or co-authored eight books and more than 120 papers on topics ranging from renewable fuels, to the assessment of local, regional, and global environmental effects caused by energy supply and use. Dr. Tester recently served as chairman of the National Advisory Council of the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He serves as a member of the National Research Council committee that is performing a broad review of the programs in DOE's Office of Power Technologies (OPT), as well as the Plenary Research Committee of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the national research institution of Switzerland. He also served on a federal panel advising President Clinton on Energy Technology R&D.

Today, Dr. Michael R. Ladisch joined Agrivida's Advisory Board. Dr. Ladisch is Director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering and Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University with a courtesy appointment in Food Science. He earned his BS from Drexel University and MS and PhD degrees from Purdue University, all in chemical engineering. He has a broad background in bioscience and bioengineering, and has authored numerous journal papers, as well as a textbook on Bioprocessing. He previously chaired the National Research Council Committee on Bioprocess Engineering as well as the Committee on Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications. Dr. Ladisch was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1999.

Today, Dr. Kenneth Keegstra joined Agrivida's Advisory Board. Dr. Keegstra is a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University and Director of the Department of Energy's Plant Research Laboratory at MSU. Dr. Keegstra is a world expert on cell wall biology, having authored or co-authored over 130 peer reviewed publications on the biochemistry and molecular aspects of plant physiology and development. Prior to joining Michigan State, Dr. Keegstra was Chair of the Botany Department at the University of Wisconsin. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and performed post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Today, Dr. Ray Goldberg joined Agrivida's advisory board. Dr. Goldberg is an internationally recognized expert in agribusiness and brings an unprecedented level of expertise to Agrivida. As the George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School, he has authored, co-authored or served as editor on 23 books, over 110 publications, and over 1000 case studies on the global food system. Dr. Goldberg has served on the Board of Directors at over 40 agribusiness firms and is a founder of the International Agribusiness Management Association, a member of the Science Advisory Board of the IFT/FDA Research Contract, Chairman of the Advisory Panel for the World Bank Guide to developing Agricultural Markets and Agro-Enterprises, and a Fellow of both the International Agribusiness Management Association and the American Agricultural Economic Association.

Today, Mr. Scott Pearce joined Agrivida's Advisory Board. Mr. Pearce is the President and CEO of BioFuel Solutions, a growing ethanol operating company founded in 2004. As President and CEO, he secured $2 M in initial funding, which led to the signing of an agreement with Cargill to develop and build two large state-of-the art ethanol production facilities in Nebraska and Minnesota. Prior to BioFuel, Mr. Pearce was a key member of Poseidon Resources Corporation, a desalination and water treatment company, from 1997 to 2002. From 2001 to 2002 he served as Poseidon's President and CEO, leading the Company's restructuring, where he had profit and loss responsibility for developing and managing six environmental treatment and desalination plants representing over $500 million of capital. Following Poseidon, he joined Bank of America as a Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning.

Mr. Pearce started his career in the U.S. Army where, as an Attack Helicopter Pilot and Troop leader, he was decorated for valor and leadership in direct combat in Desert Storm. He left the military attaining the rank of Captain. Thereafter, Mr. Pearce worked as an engineer for Nalco Chemical Company, before receiving his MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management in 1997. He graduated with honors from Auburn University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1988.

Agrivida team members presented to prospective investors at the Conference for Clean Energy hosted by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center today in Boston. Keynote speakers at the conference included Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Howard Berke, the CEO and co-founder of Konarka.

Today scientists at Agrivida, Inc. presented at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering in Cincinnati. The presentation, which was delivered in a session focused on Developments in Alternative Fuels, featured aspects of Agrivida's GreenGenes^TM enzyme technology, which is being integrated into new breeds of corn optimized for ethanol production. In addition, the Agrivida executives discussed the company's business development and funding strategies in a conference session on entrepreneurship.

Today, Agrivida, Inc. and the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research announced Agrivida's membership in the consortium. Agrivida joins industry leaders including Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto, Syngenta, and Pioneer Hi-Bred/Dupont as a corporate member of the consortium, which is focused on technical innovation and research in agriculture and related industries. The consortium also includes numerous universities with active agricultural research programs, including the University of Iowa, the University of Illinois, and the University of Wisconsin.

Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that Agrivida was a recipient of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for 2005. The NSF's competitive SBIR program supports "high quality projects on important scientific, engineering, or science/engineering education problems and opportunities that could lead to significant commercial and public benefit." Agrivida's grant will help the company develop alternative uses for its protein control technology. The company was also awarded a similar grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH); however, Agrivida declined the funding due to a conflict between the two grants.

Today, Dr. Elizabeth Hood joined Agrivida's scientific advisory board. Dr. Hood brings a wealth of expertise in the plant-based production of industrial enzymes and recombinant protein expression in plants. She has authored over 70 publications and patents in the field and is internationally recognized for her expertise. Dr. Hood was formerly Program Director of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at the National Science Foundation. From 1999-2002, she served as Vice-President of ProdiGene, an industry leader in plant-based recombinant protein production. Before joining ProdiGene, Dr. Hood was Director of the cell biology group for plant-based production of therapeutic proteins at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a Fortune 500 Company.

Today, Dr. Fred Ausubel joined Agrivida's scientific advisory board. Dr. Ausubel is a professor of Genetics at the Harvard Medical School and a professor of Molecular Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Ausubel has authored over 120 publications in the field of plant molecular biology and is editor of the Current Protocols in Molecular Biology. He is an expert in host-pathogen interactions and the molecular basis for signal transduction in plants. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics awarded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Today the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) announced that Agrivida was one of eight Massachusetts-based companies to receive funding from the state's Renewable Energy Trust. The funding, which was awarded via the Trust's competitive Sustainable Energy Economic Development (SEED) initiative, will help Agrivida commercialize its ethanol optimized corn variety. The Commonwealth is interested in ethanol technologies because ethanol is both a renewable fuel and a replacement for the petrochemical MTBE, which has contaminated many water supplies in the state, particularly on the Cape. This award makes Agrivida eligible for a second round of funding from the SEED initiative of up to $500,000.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that Agrivida had been awarded a competitive grant through NYSERDA's Renewable Energy Technology Options Program, which is designed to catalyze the development, demonstration, and commercialization of innovative renewable energy technologies. The grant, which is awarded partly on technological merit and partly on commercial potential, will help Agrivida explore using its controllable-enzyme technology in New England biomass.

Agrivida was a runner-up in the business plan competition hosted by the GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club. This competition is "notable for its exclusive panel of judges and success of past entrants" and is "proving to be a fertile ground for biotech startups." This year's judging panel drew executives from many local VC firms including Flagship Ventures, Oxford Bioscience Partners, and Fleet Development Ventures.

Agrivida was a finalist in the 50K competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The 50k, now in its 14th year, is the world leader among university entrepreneurship competitions. The competition has helped give birth to over 60 companies with an aggregate value of over $10.5 billion. Past finalists include Akamai, net.Genesis, and C-Bridge Internet Solutions.