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St. Louis (May 30, 2006) - Divergence, Inc. announced that it has been awarded three
Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR") Phase I grants - two from the National Science Foundation (
"NSF") and one from the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") - totaling $280,000. Jennifer
Jones, Ph.D., Senior Scientist for Divergence is the Principal Investigator on grants from both the NSF
and USDA. Michelle Hresko, Ph.D., Senior Director of Discovery Research, is the Principal Investigator
on a second NSF grant. The three projects develop complementary aspects of a new platform technology in
transgenic plants that Divergence is first applying to parasitic nematode infections.
"These grants enable Divergence to accelerate its proof-of-concept work on a powerful new technology in
transgenic nematode control that likely has broad applications in crop traits," said James P. McCarter,
M.D., Ph.D., Divergence's President and Chief Scientific Officer. "We are pleased that scientists serving
on both NSF and USDA review panels shared our enthusiasm for the approach and the data generated to date.
We are hopeful that discoveries made by Divergence will lead to the first safe, broadly applicable products
for the prevention of nematode damage in crops."
Since 2001, Divergence has been awarded 12 SBIR grants totaling over $2.5 million.
Divergence is a research and development company dedicated to the discovery of effective and ecologically
sound strategies for the control of parasites and other pests. The company's initial focus is on parasitic
nematodes, one of the world's major pest groups. Nematodes are roundworms that cause billions of dollars in
damage annually to numerous crops, including soybeans, cotton, strawberries, and bananas. Nematodes also
cause widespread disease in animals, including infections such as heartworm in dogs and cats and intestinal
worms in livestock. Nematode-induced human diseases include elephantiasis and African river blindness.
For more information on Divergence, visit www.divergence.com.
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