Pairwise Plants, a US-based agricultural gene editing technology developer exploiting Harvard University research, closed a $25m series A round on Tuesday co-led by Monsanto Growth Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of agrochemical producer Monsanto.

The round was co-led with healthcare-focused investment firm Deerfield Management. The company has not previously disclosed funding.

Founded in 2017, Pairwise is working on agricultural gene modification technology to help alleviate pressures in the global food chain. It will look to partner companies working with produce such as row and specialty crops, fruits and vegetables.

The company has licensed base editing technology developed by co-founder David Liu, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

The co-founders also include J Keith Joung, a pathologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, and Feng Zhang, professor in neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Fellow co-founder Haven Baker, formerly senior vice-president (VP) and general manager of agribusiness Simplot Plant Sciences, will be chief business officer, while co-founder Tom Adams, a former VP of biotechnology at Monsanto, will become chief executive on April 1.

Joung said: “My co-founders and I believe the technologies we have each been developing can have a profound impact in plant agriculture and will speed innovation that is badly needed to feed a growing population amid challenging conditions created by a changing climate.”

– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

US-based agricultural gene editing technology developer Pairwise Plants closed a $25m series A round on Tuesday co-led by Monsanto Growth Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of agrochemical producer Monsanto.

The round was co-led with healthcare-focused investment firm Deerfield Management. The company has not previously disclosed funding.

Pairwise is working on agricultural gene modification technology to help alleviate pressures in the global food chain. It has licensed base editing technology created at Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology by Pairwise co-founder David Liu.

The company will look to partner companies working with produce such as row and speciality crops, fruits and vegetables. Tom Adams, a former vice-president of biotechnology at Monsanto, is a co-founder and will take on the chief executive role at Pairwise at the start of next month.

Kiersten Stead, investment director at Monsanto Growth Ventures, said: “Our goal is to solve agriculture problems across a wide range of food systems that are also acknowledged social problems – including food waste, food security and nutrition, and to enable other companies worldwide to benefit from gene editing through technology licensing and collaboration.”