Devgen will receive research payments and it is eligible for milestones and royalties, the companies said.
Devgen will use its technology to identify and express genes useful to plant resistance to nematodes, and Pioneer will incorporate the findings into new crop varieties, the companies added.
Devgen's technology uses gene knockdown approaches, including RNAi, in C. elegans to identify and validate drug targets, determine compounds' mechanisms of action, and develop RNAi-based transgenic crops.