Syngenta, a global agribusiness company with a biotechnology research
facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C., was honored yesterday as the
recipient of the third annual Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Award
given by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the Biofuels Center of
North Carolina.
Representatives of the Biotechnology Center announced the selection
during a breakfast meeting at the four-day World Congress on Industrial
Biotechnology and Bioprocessing in Chicago.

The award honors outstanding technical achievement, business
leadership, the translation of new technologies into commercial products,
support for education, and community service.

This year the Biotechnology Center partnered with the Biofuels Center
in giving the award to a firm making significant contributions to biofuels
development and production.

Syngenta was chosen from among 10 nominees by a committee that
included representatives from the Biotechnology Center, the Biofuels Center,
the N.C. Department of Commerce and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services.

The selection committee cited Syngenta?s commitment to innovative
biotechnology research leading to enzymes useful in developing biofuels, its
support of agriculture, education and community service, and its involvement
in the World Congress.

Syngenta?s achievements will also be celebrated during a dinner for
North Carolina attendees of the World Congress this evening, when W. Steven
Burke, the Biotechnology Center?s senior vice president, corporate affairs,
will formally present the award to Neal Briggi, head of enzymes for
Syngenta.
Syngenta invests $800 million in research and development annually and
employs 21,000 people in 90 countries.

One of the focal points of that investment is the site in Research
Triangle Park, where the company creates leading-edge innovations in plant
biotechnology including advanced insect control and drought tolerance. The
site is also the company?s central location for biofuels product
development.

?Syngenta?s research is contributing greatly to improved plant
materials for more-efficient biofuels development,? said Burke. ?This is
particularly important to North Carolina as we pursue a commitment to
produce within the state, by 2017, 10 percent of the liquid fuels that we
consume.?

To meet its growing need for biofuels, North Carolina is targeting
improvements in non-food renewable sources ? primarily from cellulose-based
plant material that might include switchgrass, wood waste and specially
developed sweet potatoes. Cellulosic ethanol holds the greatest potential to
reduce global demand for fossil fuels. Currently the key constraints on
cellulosic ethanol production are economic ? the cost and volume of the
enzymes that convert cellulose into components that can be refined into
ethanol.

Syngenta researchers are seeking ways to improve cellulose-degrading
enzymes and to produce them in plants. Syngenta Biotechnology in RTP has
developed a new type of corn that is under review by the United States
Department of Agriculture.

The need for more effective ways to produce cellulosic ethanol,
however, has put increasing demands on ag biotech resources ? from discovery
to field production to regulatory affairs. Syngenta is among industry
leaders addressing the challenge, the selection committee said.

Previous recipients of the Leadership Award include Novozymes, honored
for its achievements in developing new enzyme technologies to reduce the
cost of producing ethanol from cellulose. The Biotechnology Center also
recognized Novozymes? leadership in developing important
biotechnology-related educational programs in partnership with the North
Carolina Community College System.

In 2007, DuPont won the award for its development of plastics made
with renewable resources, such as corn, to replace petrochemicals
traditionally used in the process. It was also noted for its development,
with BP, of an alcohol compound fermented from sugar beets. The product is
being tested in the United Kingdom as a gasoline additive with potential
benefits over ethanol. The Biotechnology Center also cited DuPont for its
support of educational and community volunteer leadership programs.

The Biotechnology Center, with headquarters in Research Triangle Park
and five regional offices statewide, is a private, non-profit corporation
supported by the N.C. General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term
economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology
research, business, education and workforce training statewide.

Visit the Biotechnology Center's Web site at www.ncbiotech.org.

For more on Syngenta go to www.syngenta.com
and on the World Congress, www.bio.org.