Florigene is a

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

company based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, which is principally involved in the application of in-house genetic modification techniques to develop novel colour expressions in a range of commercial plants. Florigene has a subsidiary division in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and other production operations around the world.

History

Florigene has long been associated with genetic engineering floriculture. Founded as Calgene Pacific Ltd in 1986 with institutional backing from

Amcor Amcor plc is a global packaging company. It develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home and personal-care, and other products. The ...

, CP Ventures Ltd, the Japan-Australia Venture Capital Fund and MPW Rural Development, it was one of Australia's first biotechnology companies. In 1991, Calgene's research team announced that it had isolated the gene responsible for the expression of the colour

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

in petunias, beating out rivals around the globe by a matter of weeks. This breakthrough paved the way for the acquisition of Dutch rival, Florigene, in 1993. Calgene assumed Florigene's corporate name in 1994 to capitalise on that firm's international reputation. Since then, Florigene has developed naturally long-life and disease resistant

carnations ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of '' Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.M ...

, new morphologies of gerberas and natural colour modifications of the three main

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers or flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands. Many garde ...

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

and

chrysanthemums Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center o ...

, which it exports throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Public float

Florigene prepared for a public float, hiring

Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston (also known as CSFB and CS First Boston) is the investment banking affiliate of Credit Suisse headquartered in New York. The company was created by the merger of First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse Group in 1988 ...

to develop a prospectus and secure investors across

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the U.S., but was instead acquired by global agrochemicals giant Nufarm Ltd in 1999.

Ownership

In 2003,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese brewing giant and long-term partner

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. I ...

acquired 98.5% equity in Florigene from

Nufarm Nufarm is an Australian agricultural chemical company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1956, the company was founded by Max Fremder. It holds more than 2,100 product registrations, and markets products in more than 100 countri ...

Developments and potential

The significance of Florigene's technology is the brand potential of its novel flower varieties - a blue rose is a marketer's dream. In 2004, after 20 years and A$45 million worth of exhaustive research and prolific patenting, Florigene and Suntory scientists announced to the world the development of the first rose in the pipeline to a true blue rose. It is expected to be commercialised in the coming years.

External links

Florigene corporate website
Biotechnology companies of Australia Agriculture companies of Australia Biotechnology companies established in 1986 1986 establishments in Australia Companies based in Melbourne Suntory Science and technology in Melbourne

History

Public float

Ownership

Developments and potential

See also

External links