Cibus Announces Transfer of Gene-Edited Herbicide Tolerance Traits in Interoc Rice Seeds for Testing and Production
SAN DIEGO, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cibus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBUS), a leading agricultural technology company specializing in the development and licensing of high-value plant traits, today announced the transfer of gene-edited materials for herbicide tolerance in rice to its partner, Interoc. This transition facilitates the commencement by Interoc of testing and production in anticipation of the forthcoming launch of Interoc's CIBUS® enhanced seed products into the Latin American agricultural sector.
"Our collaboration with Cibus continues to deliver significant value," said Fernando De La Puente, Corporate Vice President at Interoc. "Rice is a critical crop for the Latin American economy, and we are committed to providing growers with advanced traits that optimize their productivity."
"Achieving this milestone on schedule and within rigorous development timelines reinforces our core objective: the predictable, time-bound development of desired traits in rice and other crops," said Peter Beetham, PhD, Co-founder and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Cibus. "With our Rapid Trait Development System™, we are addressing the global need for accelerated trait innovation and helping equip farmers with solutions to increase yields and support food security. Buoyed by the progressing harmonization of gene editing regulatory frameworks around the world, we expect to deliver additional gene-edited materials to our partners over the coming year as more traits progress toward commercialization."
"Our partnership with Interoc has been characterized by high-level collaboration and productivity," said Martin Poveda, Senior Director Rice & Business Affairs at Cibus. "Together, we are creating solutions tailored specifically for Interoc's key markets and customers. At Cibus, we have several improved traits in our pipeline earmarked for Interoc's elite product lines in rice and other crops and we look forward to the commercial roll out of these gene-edited products in the coming years."
About Cibus
Cibus is a leader in developing traits (characteristics) that address critical productivity, yield and sustainability challenges. Cibus' proprietary high-throughput gene-editing technologies drive its long-term focus on productivity traits for farmers for the major global row crops. Cibus is not a seed company. It is a technology company that uses its gene editing technologies to develop plant traits at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding and to license them to customers in exchange for royalties.
About Interoc
Interoc is a leading agricultural solutions company in Latin America, specializing in research and development (R&D) of crop protection technologies and high-performance hybrid seeds. With over 30 years of experience, we integrate innovation, quality, and a deep understanding of Latin American farmers to boost field productivity and offer reliable products for the agribusiness and large-scale agriculture sectors.
Our commitment is to provide efficient and sustainable agricultural technology aligned with the real needs of the sector and aimed at strengthening the development of agriculture in the region.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included herein, including statements regarding the potential agreement between Cibus and Interoc, the implementation of the commercialization framework contemplated to be established therein and the timing, scale and scope of commercial sales thereunder; the ability of Cibus and Interoc to successfully negotiated a definitive agreement governing the contemplated licensing and marketing relationship between the companies; and the operational and financial performance, strategy, future operations, prospects, and plans of Cibus. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "intend," "expect," "plan," "scheduled," "could," "would" and "will," or the negative of these and similar expressions.
These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and assumptions of Cibus' management about future events, which are based on currently available information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the control of Cibus. Cibus' actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements could be materially different than those expressed, implied, or anticipated by forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: challenges associated with commercial negotiations and the risk that Cibus and Interoc may not be able to achieve a definitive agreement on terms acceptable to the parties; Cibus' need for additional near-term funding to finance its activities and challenges in obtaining additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; changes in expected or existing competition; challenges to Cibus' intellectual property protection and unexpected costs associated with defending intellectual property rights; increased or unanticipated time and resources required for Cibus' platform or trait product development efforts; Cibus' reliance on third parties in connection with its development activities; challenges associated with Cibus' ability to effectively license its productivity traits and sustainable ingredient products; the risk that farmers do not recognize the value in germplasm containing Cibus' traits or that farmers and processors fail to work effectively with crops containing Cibus' traits; delays or disruptions in the Company's platform or trait product development efforts; challenges that arise in respect of Cibus' production of high-quality plants and seeds cost effectively on a large scale; Cibus' dependence on distributions from Cibus Global, LLC to pay taxes and cover its corporate and overhead expenses; regulatory developments that disfavor or impose significant burdens on gene-editing processes or products; commodity prices and other market risks facing the agricultural sector; technological developments that could render Cibus' technologies obsolete; changes in macroeconomic and market conditions, including inflation, supply chain constraints, and rising interest rates; dislocations in the capital markets and challenges in accessing liquidity and the impact of such liquidity challenges on Cibus' ability to execute on its business plan; and other important factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Cibus' Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 17, 2026. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Cibus' views as of the date hereof. Cibus specifically disclaims any obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required under applicable law.
CIBUS CONTACTS:
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Jeff Sonnek
jeff.sonnek@icrinc.com
MEDIA RELATIONS
Colin Sanford
colin@bioscribe.com
