Dow AgroSciences says court reinstates key Mycogen biotechnology patent - Chemical Outlook - Independent industry news, analysis and business information for chemicals makers and users

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (June 5, 2001) -- On May 30, 2001, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Mycogen Plant Science, Inc. is entitled to continue a biotechnology-related patent infringement suit against Monsanto Company. The Mycogen patent at issue covers a process for increasing the expression of Bacillus thuringiensis ("B.t.") insect resistance traits in crops.

In its decision, the Federal Circuit ruled that the United States District Court for the Southern District of California erred when it found that Mycogen's patent was invalid and granted summary judgment in favor of Monsanto. The case has now been returned to the district court where it will proceed.

"We are extremely pleased that the Federal Circuit has reinstated this patent, which represents an important Mycogen invention in the area of biotechnology and crop protection," said Pete Siggelko, Global Business Leader of Biotechnology & Plant Genetics for Dow AgroSciences LLC, Mycogen's affiliated company.

"We plan to continue our aggressive protection of Mycogen's intellectual property -- a significant asset of the company," Siggelko said.

Guy Relford, Global Legal Counsel - Litigation for Dow AgroSciences, added, "This victory for Mycogen is extremely significant. Mycogen's patent covers a process for synthesizing a B.t. gene to attain commercially valuable levels of insect control in crops. We believe that virtually every company engaged in the development of B.t. products is utilizing Mycogen's patented process."

Mycogen Plant Science, Inc. and Agrigenetics, Inc. d/b/a Mycogen Seeds are indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of The Dow Chemical Company and affiliates of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Mycogen Seeds markets grain corn, silage corn and nutritionally enhanced corn seed, as well as sunflower, canola, soybean, alfalfa and sorghum seed through a distribution system of sales representatives, distributors and retail outlets in the Corn Belt, the eastern United States and in major dairy areas throughout the country.

PLAINFIELD, Ill. --July 23, 2001--Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. today announced the appointment of Richard E. Goodrich as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He replaces Timothy J. Wiggins, who has elected to leave the Company. Goodrich will be based in the Company's Houston office and will report to Gerald M. Glenn, Chairman, President and CEO.

MIDLAND, Mich., July 24 -- The Dow Chemical Company announced today it has agreed to purchase the assets of the Celotex Corporation's rigid foam insulation business. The purchase includes all Celotex brand polyisocyanurate insulation products for residential and commercial markets, as well as other accessory products. The new business will be integrated into Dow's North American Building Materials business. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

NEWARK, New Jersey (July 24, 2001) – IndigoB2B.com (indigob2b.com), an e-commerce solutions provider servicing the specialty chemicals industry, and The ChemQuest Group (chemquest.com), an international strategic management consulting firm, have formed a marketing, sales and business development collaboration to further expand the customer base for e-commerce strategies designed for buyers and sellers of specialty chemicals.

ARLINGTON, Virginia (November 6, 2002) - The U.S. Department of Energy's Strategic Petroleum Reserve has selected the Plateau 4 Learning Management System (LMS), from Plateau Systems, a provider of enterprise software designed to manage an organization's learning and knowledge, to manage mission-critical learning and automatically deliver required training to all of its employees, partners, customers and suppliers.