Cibus and AgVayā Collaborate to Introduce Indian Rice Growers to New Solutions to Scale Crop Productivity Through Advanced Gene Editing

Rhea-AI Summary

Cibus (Nasdaq: CBUS) announced a collaboration with AgVayā on October 16, 2025 to accelerate introduction of Cibus’ gene-editing technologies into India’s rice seed industry.

The agreement covers market strategy, stakeholder partnerships, and R&D and commercial collaborations aimed at developing resilient, high-yield rice varieties and advanced herbicide and sustainability traits. Cibus said the work could shorten breeding timelines in India by more than a decade, improve access to modern seed technologies, and help reduce pesticide dependence.

Insights

Market Strategy & Agritech Partnerships Analyst

Cibus partners with AgVayā to introduce gene-edited rice traits into India, targeting faster breeding and reduced pesticide dependence.

Cibus and AgVayā will define market strategies, build local partnerships, and pursue R&D and commercial collaborations to introduce gene editing solutions into India’s rice seed industry. The collaboration explicitly targets advanced herbicide and sustainability traits and aims to make modern seed technologies more accessible across India’s decentralized agricultural ecosystem. The announcement cites India’s scale — approximately 50 million hectares (125 million acres) of rice — underscoring the potential reach of any successful adoption.

The plan depends on stakeholder engagement across industry and government and on translating Cibus’ trait pipeline into locally adapted germplasm and regulatory-compliant products. Key risks include the need for successful local R&D transfers, regulatory acceptance, and effective partnerships with seed companies and public agencies to commercialize traits. The release also references a separate material transfer agreement with CIAT/FLAR for Latin America, indicating a pattern of regional collaboration rather than an isolated pilot.

Watch for concrete milestones such as announced local R&D partnerships, regulatory submissions or approvals, and announced commercial seed launches; these items will reveal near-term progress. The agreement date of October 16, 2025 anchors the start of joint strategy development, and the claimed ability to accelerate breeding timelines by more than a decade is a specific performance claim to monitor in follow-up announcements.

Collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of advanced gene editing technologies in and deliver high-performance traits that support more sustainable and productive rice production in India

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cibus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBUS), a leading agricultural technology company specializing in the development and licensing of gene-edited plant traits, today announced its agreement with AgVayā, a strategic growth advisory firm that partners with leading innovators, to develop strategies and solutions for the Indian agriculture market. Together, the companies will define market strategies, build partnerships, and accelerate the introduction of Cibus’ gene editing technologies into India’s rice seed industry, supporting the development of more resilient and productive rice varieties that are critical to both India’s agricultural economy and the global rice supply. Working through AgVayā, Cibus will actively partner with industry and government stakeholders across India to address some of the country’s biggest agricultural challenges in rice, while inviting R&D and commercial collaborations to accelerate impact.

India is the world’s second-largest producer and the largest exporter of rice, with approximately 50 million hectares (125 million acres) under cultivation. As a cornerstone of Indian agriculture and a critical contributor to the national economy and food security across Asia, rice presents both enormous opportunities and pressing challenges. Modern gene editing technologies create solutions to drive affordable costs, accelerate the breeding cycle, and lower dependence on pesticides.

“This partnership represents a significant milestone for Cibus as we work to extend our innovative gene editing technologies to support one of the world’s most important rice-producing regions,” said Peter Beetham, Ph.D., co-founder and Interim CEO of Cibus. “With more than 25 years of technical expertise and exciting ongoing trait development in rice, we are excited to work alongside AgVayā’s experienced team to introduce high-performance seed solutions to Indian farmers. Our goal is to foster meaningful collaborations across India’s decentralized agricultural ecosystem to address critical challenges through cutting-edge innovation.”

Through this agreement, Cibus and AgVayā will work together to develop a comprehensive strategy to expand Cibus’ presence in India, partnering with companies, institutions, and government stakeholders to tackle key challenges in the rice industry. The collaboration will focus on enabling joint development and commercialization of advanced herbicide and sustainability traits, creating opportunities for Indian rice seed companies and public agencies to integrate cutting-edge gene editing solutions. By leveraging Cibus’ gene-editing technologies, Cibus aims to accelerate breeding timelines in India by more than a decade, make modern seed technologies more accessible, and reduce dependence on pesticides, all in support of developing climate-resilient, high-yielding rice seed varieties adapted to evolving agronomic and environmental conditions worldwide.

“We are proud to help bring Cibus’ world-class gene editing technologies to strategic crops of interest to India,” said Sekhar Natarajan, Partner of AgVayā. “Rice is central to India’s agricultural economy, and the integration of advanced seed technologies has the potential to transform productivity, sustainability, and farmer prosperity. By combining Cibus’ innovations with AgVayā’s strategic relationships and market expertise, we aim to accelerate the adoption of these technologies, driving scalable, long-term improvements that strengthen India’s rice industry and support global food security.”

This agreement follows Cibus’ recent announcement of a material transfer agreement with Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), in collaboration with the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR), to introduce Cibus’ HT3 clethodim herbicide tolerance trait into elite rice germplasm for Latin America, underscoring Cibus’ commitment to advancing rice innovation globally.

About Cibus
Cibus is leading a new era in agriculture. The company is a technology leader developing and licensing advanced plant traits that enable higher yields, lower input costs, and more sustainable farming. Using proprietary precision gene editing and breeding systems, Cibus can develop traits with remarkable speed and accuracy, at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding or GMO approaches. By partnering with seed companies worldwide, Cibus is transforming how crops are grown and helping to build a more productive and sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, please visit www.cibus.com.

About AgVayā
AgVayā was founded by industry leaders who recognized the critical need for practical, sustainable solutions in agriculture and food businesses – going beyond conventional advice to driving real transformation. With decades of experience in leading the companies and their global expansions, shaping board-level strategy, and driving growth across the agri-food value chain, our team specializes in business growth & strategy, organizational transformation, and talent & leadership development. For more information, please visit www.AgVayā.com.

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 Cibus' operational and financial performance, Cibus' liquidity and capital resources, the implementation and execution of cost savings initiatives, Cibus' strategy, future operations, prospects, and plans, including the anticipated receipt of commercial revenues and additional funding, are forward-looking statements. Cibus' assessment of the period of time through which its financial resources will be adequate to support its operations is a forward-looking statement. Because this involves such risks and uncertainties, the Company could use its available capital resources sooner than it currently expects. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "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: 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, particularly with respect to its non-Rice and non-disease projects in light of the Company's realigned strategic priorities; 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; delays and uncertainties regarding regulatory developments in the European Union; Cibus' ability to achieve commercial success; 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; the Company's assessment of the period of time through which its financial resources will be adequate to support operations; 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 20, 2025. 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.

In addition, 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. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Cibus' views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

CIBUS CONTACTS:

INVESTOR RELATIONS
Jeff Sonnek
jeff.sonnek@icrinc.com

MEDIA RELATIONS
Colin Sanford
colin@bioscribe.com

FAQ

What did Cibus (CBUS) announce on October 16, 2025 about India?

Cibus announced a collaboration with AgVayā to develop strategies and partnerships to introduce its gene-editing technologies into India’s rice seed industry.

How could the Cibus–AgVayā partnership affect rice breeding timelines in India for CBUS?

Cibus says its gene-editing technologies could accelerate breeding timelines in India by more than a decade.

Which traits will Cibus and AgVayā focus on for Indian rice seed companies (CBUS)?

The collaboration will focus on advanced herbicide tolerance and sustainability traits for rice.

Will Cibus (CBUS) work with Indian government and institutions under the agreement?

Yes; the agreement includes partnering with companies, institutions, and government stakeholders across India.

Does the Cibus agreement with AgVayā include commercial collaborations for Indian seed companies (CBUS)?

Yes; the companies will pursue R&D and commercial collaborations to accelerate adoption of gene-editing solutions in rice.

How does this India collaboration relate to Cibus’ other rice efforts (CBUS)?

Cibus referenced a recent material transfer agreement to introduce its HT3 clethodim herbicide tolerance trait into elite rice germplasm for Latin America.