Bayer takes over Targenomix

The German biotechnology company for molecular plant physiology is now part of Bayer. A purchase price was not disclosed.

The German biotechnology company Targenomix is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the chemical group Bayer. As an independent unit, however, the company will retain its start-up character. Targenomix is a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology and employs around 30 researchers. Their task and goal is to develop a new generation of plant protection molecules. This is necessary because decades of using pesticides have led to the development of resistance, which is now to be eliminated.

The two companies did not disclose a purchase price. Bayer and the Potsdam-based start-up, which was founded in 2014, have been cooperating for some time. According to the companies, the collaboration has resulted in, among other things, a new herbicide that has proven effective against the most important resistant grasses. It is due to be launched on the market towards the end of the decade.

The researchers at Targenomix use AI to analyze the metabolism of plants, for example. "Targenomix's innovative tools for identifying and selecting safe and sustainable active ingredients complement our design-based strategy in crop protection research," says Robert Reiter, Head of Research and Development at Bayer's Crop Science Division. "We will use them to accelerate the development of new products."