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27 August 2019AmericasRory O'Neill

Trio settle high-fibre GMO wheat dispute

US company Arcadia Biosciences has reached a settlement with Arista Cereal Technologies and Bay State Milling Company, bringing an end to a patent infringement dispute between the two parties.

The companies will now collaborate on commercialising a type of high-fibre wheat.

Arista and Bay State sued Arcadia in April this year, claiming that the biosciences company had infringed an Arista patent for a genetically modified type of wheat with a high content of amylose, one of the two components of starch.

Bay State, the exclusive licensee of Arista’s patent, had been offering commercial products based on the patent-protected type of wheat.

Between 2011 and 2018, Arcadia filed its own patent applications for high-amylose wheat. Arista and Bay State claimed that Arcadia’s applications were based on the research and methods disclosed in their own patent.

Last Thursday, August 22 Arista and Bay State filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of all claims against Arcadia.

A press release issued yesterday reveals that as part of the settlement, the three parties will work together to commercialise wheat high in amylose content.

Bay State will be Arcadia’s “exclusive commercial partner” in the North American market, while Arista will receive exclusive rights under Arcadia’s IP in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and South Korea.

According to the release, Arcadia is to earn royalties on Bay State’s sales in North America.

Raj Ketkar, president and CEO of Arcadia said that Bay State was an “excellent partner for North America, bringing its strengths in milling, identity preserved supply chains and technical support of customer food companies”.

Eric Vaschalde, CEO of Arista, said the company was “pleased to have reached an agreement that resolves our ongoing patent dispute and puts our focus on successfully bringing high fibre wheat to market across our wide platform”.

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