Evogene
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as |
TASE: EVGN NYSE: EVGN |
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Rehovot, Israel |
| Key people | Martin Gerstel, Chairman of Board, Ofer Haviv, President & CEO |
| Revenue |
 17 million dolar (2012) |
| Operating income |
 3.1 million dolar (2012) |
| Net income |
2.5 million dolar (2012) |
| Employees | 187 (2013) |
| Website | www.evogene.com |
Evogene Ltd. (Hebrew: אבוג'ן) is an Israeli company engaged in research and development for improving plant performance through plant genomics and biotechnology. The company's technologies involve systems for examining plants' genes, field experiments and producing unique genomic information.
Activity
The company is made of four divisions: improving qualities of plants, resistance to illnesses, agrochemistry (the interface between chemicals and plants) and biodiesel. The company employs about 150 workers in various fields, of them 85% are engaged in research and development. The multidisciplinary team includes computer experts, biologists, geneticists, agronomists and others. Evogene has its main offices and compound of laboratories in Rehovot, Israel. The company also has greenhouses and other plant growing sites throughout Israel.
The company cooperates with some of the leading seed companies around the world, among them, Syngenta, DuPont, Monsanto and Bayer, in order to develop and commercialize its technology, especially with regard to corn, soy and wheat.
Technology
Evogene's performs the biotechnological procedure of seed development in several stages. For this end, the company has been developing computational technology for detecting genes and DNA sequences that could improve one or more of the certain plant's qualities. The company's method of work starts with mapping and prioritizing the genes, then examining the impact of these genes and gene sequences on the plant in order to improve actual features of the certain plant. The company focuses on agricultural and industrial needs and also on the alternative energy industry.
As of December 2012, Evogene has four main technologies: Athlete - a system for detecting plant genes that could be improved by genetic engineering; Evobreed - a system for predicting successful crossbreedings; Gene2product - a system for predicting the best method for inserting a gene into a certain plant and another system for predicting the interaction between plants and chemicals. The company plans to enter new fields, such as RNA-based gene regulation and to explore the benefits of reducing the impact of certain genes.
Evogene as a public company
The company's shares are traded on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and is a member of the TA-100 Index, the TA BlueTech-50 Index and the TA-Biomed Index. The company does not have a controlling stock holder: Monsanto holds 9% of the company's shares, Leon Recanati holds 5%, Compugen holds 3%, Chairman Martin Gerstel holds 2% and the rest 81% are held by the general public. In June 2013, the company submitted a draft prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of its public offering at the New York Stock Exchange. The Shares began trading on November 2013 .
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