Ag-West Bio announced today that one of its members has received the prestigious Gold Leaf Award at the 2014 BIO International Convention in San Diego. In a ceremony yesterday, Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., was named “Company of the Year”, recognized for biotechnology excellence in Canada.
Headquartered in Saskatoon, Agrisoma is an agricultural company that has commercialized carinata, a non-food oilseed crop designed for sustainable production of biofuels. Sourcing most of its crops from southern Saskatchewan, Agrisoma sells carinata seed products under the Resonance® brand name. It delivers a reliable source of renewable oil that can be used as a “drop in” feedstock for biojet and biodiesel fuel manufacturing processes. Resonance Carinata is grown on semi-arid farmland, creating new economic and production opportunities for growers.
“Agrisoma is honored to receive the Gold Leaf Award,” stated Steven Fabijanski, Agrisoma President and CEO.
“Agrisoma's Resonance® Carinata, Canada’s first non-food crop that produces oil uniquely suited for biofuel production, was used to fuel the world’s first 100% renewable biojet fuel flight here in Canada. Agrisoma has worked hard to demonstrate how our industry provides sustainable solutions as well as the role of biotechnology in securing our energy future.”
Andrew Casey, President and CEO of BIOTECanada said “Agrisoma's innovation is a fantastic demonstration of how biotechnology helps to provide the solutions needed to address the pressing challenges facing our society and environment. The vision and dedication of Agrisoma offers inspiration and promise for the economy and society more broadly.”
Ag-West Bio’s President and CEO, Wilf Keller, remarked, “It's exciting to see a Saskatchewan bioscience company reach such a high level of success. This Gold Leaf Award celebrates innovative spirit, hard work and perseverance. Congratulations to Agrisoma Biosciences on this important achievement, and to those who are working hard in Saskatchewan to grow crops that will help to fuel the economy of the next generation.”
The Gold Leaf Awards were presented during a ceremony at the BIO International Convention in San Diego, California at the Canada Place Pavilion on Tuesday June 24. BIOTECanada sponsors the Gold Leaf Awards, which are nominated and judged by biotechnology industry leaders, and the award honours companies that have made significant contributions to the growth of Canada’s biotech sector.
About Agrisoma
Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. is an agricultural company that has commercialized carinata, a non-food oilseed crop designed for sustainable production of biofuels. Agrisoma sells carinata seed products under the Resonance brand name, and uses advanced crop improvement technologies to provide superior crop varieties to growers. For further information about Resonance Carinata, Agrisoma and its technology, collaborations and partnerships, please visit www.agrisoma.com
About Saskatchewan
Biosciences Saskatchewan Biosciences represents companies and organizations active in the research and commercialization of bio-based products and processes. Participants include Innovation Saskatchewan, Prairie Plant Systems, AdeTherapeutics, the University of Saskatchewan’s Industry Liaison Office, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) and Ag-West Bio. Learn more by visiting Canada Place at BIO 2014, booth #2011 and follow us on Twitter @agwestbio.
Download a PDF of this article here.