Ecuador Approves Cibus Herbicide Tolerance Traits as Equivalent to Conventional Breeding

Designation confirms conventional regulation of Cibus herbicide tolerance traits in Rice in Ecuador paving the way for further product development and eventual commercialization in a key Rice growing region

/EIN News/ -- SAN DIEGO, May 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cibus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBUS) (the “Company”), a leading agricultural technology company that develops and licenses plant traits to seed companies, announced today that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Ecuador has determined that Rice cultivars containing Cibus’ herbicide tolerance Rice traits (HT1 and HT3) are equivalent to those developed through conventional breeding and subject to the same regulations as conventional seed in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law of Agrobiodiversity, Seeds and Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture and its Regulations.

The Rice trait products reviewed were developed utilizing Cibus’ Rapid Trait Development System™ (RTDS^®) technologies that enable targeted genetic changes without integrating recombinant DNA – foreign genetic material – at any stage in a crop’s development. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock determined that Rice plants containing Cibus’ HT1 and HT3 traits may proceed with registration and commercialization in Ecuador in accordance with existing laws regulating the development and introduction of new plant varieties and will not be subject to laws that strictly prohibit the commercial planting of transgenic (GMO) plants.

“We applaud the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock for implementing regulations that will enable Ecuadorian growers to benefit from the best available tools and technologies to help increase productivity while addressing ever increasing challenges associated with a changing climate. New and more effective weed management solutions are necessary to meet these pressing challenges,” noted Cibus’ Co-Founder and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Peter Beetham. “We are pleased that the Ministry recognized that Cibus’ RTDS precision breeding technologies result in genetic improvements that could have been achieved through conventional breeding albeit much faster and much more precise than traditional approaches.”

Cibus plans to introduce its herbicide tolerance traits in Rice to Latin American markets through its partnership with Interoc and other major seed companies. Interoc, a company with a deep history in Latin America and substantial expertise in Rice seed genetics and Rice breeding, plans to add Cibus’ HT1 and HT3 Rice traits to their elite lines to offer innovative weed management solutions to growers in Latin America.

Fernando de la Puente, Corporate Vice President of Interoc, noted, “As part of our goal to deliver innovative agricultural solutions to growers, we are pleased with the determination from regulatory authorities on Cibus’ herbicide tolerance traits that will help expedite our ability to bring beneficial technology to the Rice community.”

Martin Poveda, Senior Director, Rice and Business Affairs at Cibus added, “With this development in Ecuador, we are excited to continue development of HT1 and HT3 Rice varieties alongside Interoc and bring the benefits of Cibus RTDS breeding platform to important food and feed crops in the Latin America region and beyond.”

In addition to Ecuador, Cibus believes this paves the path to pursue regulatory clearance for its HT1 and HT3 Rice traits in other key Latin American markets.

About Cibus

Cibus is a leader in gene edited productivity traits that address critical productivity and sustainability challenges for farmers such as diseases and pests which the United Nations estimates cost the global economy approximately $300 billion annually. Cibus is not a seed company. It is a technology company that uses gene editing to develop and license traits to seed companies in exchange for royalties on seed sales. Cibus’ long-term focus is productivity traits for farmers for the major global row crops with large acreage such as canola, rice, and soybean. Cibus is a technology leader in high-throughput gene editing technology that is expected to enable it to develop and commercialize plant traits at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding. Cibus has developed a current pipeline of five productivity traits including important traits for weed management in rice, pod shatter reduction, and Sclerotinia (disease) resistance, which are its near-term focus.

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
Karen Troeber
ktroeber@cibus.com
858-450-2636

Jeff Sonnek – ICR
jeff.sonnek@icrinc.com

MEDIA RELATIONS
media@cibus.com
Colin Sanford
colin@bioscribe.com
203-918-4347