Date: May, 1993

Title: PARRC Guide/American Cyanamid Does Research Down on the Farm

Smack dab in the middle of a busy shopping-and-office complex on Route 1 in West Windsor stands American Cyanamid”s Agricultural Research Division. The swaying magnolias and grazing cattle look a bit out of place, as the cars rush past. While the 650-acre laboratory and farm complex has that quiet, down-on-the-farm appearance, passers-by are more likely to see men and women wearing white lab coats and safety goggles than Levis and cowboy hats. Serious agricultural research is being done in the site”s greenhouses and labs. Research, testing and obtaining government regulatory approvals are all done at the West Windsor facility.

Founded in 1907, American Cyanamid is a biotechnology and life sciences company that develops and manufactures both agricultural and medical products. The company”s corporate headquarters are located in Wayne. The 900 researchers at the Agricultural Research Division, which was opened in 1960, work to discover compounds to help farmers from Iowa to Italy produce food more efficiently. Agricultural products accounted for 25% of American Cyanamid”s $5.2 million in sales last year. Total 1992 agriculture sales were $1.3 million.

The company in 1981 split the discovery and development functions of the agricultural division in order to give each part a better focus on long-term research. Lantz Crawley, vice president of discovery, and Mark Atwood, vice president of development, both work out of the Agricultural Research Division and agree that separating the two has enhanced agricultural research on plants and animals, the company”s two areas of concentration.

Consumer concerns have influenced the direction of the company”s research in recent years, particularly as people have become increasingly worried about the safety and fat content of the food they eat. Environmental concerns have also become a key focus in its research on plants. In fact, for nearly a decade, the entire agriculture industry has intensified its attention to the impact of chemicals on humans, wildlife and groundwater supply. American Cyanamid has responded to the green movement in agriculture, in part, by developing herbicides that require only small amounts of active ingredients per acre of farmland. Says Crawley: “The industry trend is to have compounds that are more environmentally-friendly and are applied at much lower rates. We”re trying to move from using pounds of herbicides per acre to grams per acre.”

Environmental concerns have even changed the way the company conducts its plant research. “We have started evaluating environmental impact during the discovery stage, rather than after the product has been developed,” says Crawley. The company formed a cooperative relationship with the National Audubon Society to determine the best ways to study the effects of agricultural chemicals on birds, especially endangered species like the Bald Eagle.

Through all the changes and research shifts in recent years, however, the company has proven it still has a green thumb. The plant side of Cyanamid”s business has been thriving in the past five years, largely as a result of the work done by Dr. Marinus Los, an American Cyanamid researcher who discovered a family of chemicals known as imidazolinones. In honor of his work, Los was named Distinguished Inventor by Intellectual Property Owners and was given the New Jersey Research & Development Council”s Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award. Building on Los” work, researchers then developed imidazolinone herbicides, which attack an enzyme present in plants, but has no effect on humans or other animals. These herbicides can also be used in small doses and have minimal environmental impact.

Since their introduction eight years ago, imidazolinone herbicides have become the basis for 40 new products and are used internationally wherever soybeans are grown. The company has developed a product line with names like Scepter, Pursuit, Assert, Arsenal, Image and Event. Pursuit, which was launched in 1989, has been American Cyanamid”s most successful herbicide for use on soybeans, some edible beans, peanuts and eventually alfalfa. The company is also developing new herbicides for use in rice and cereal crops in Japan and Europe, which are expected to hit the market in 1997. Since starting to use the new generation of herbicides, farmers have reduced total U.S. pesticide use by 55 million pounds.

The most exciting technology coming out of the company”s agricultural division in the past few years has revolved around genetic engineering. In 1992, through cooperative research with Rutgers at the university”s Camden testing facility, American Cyanamid introduced its first genetically-engineered, herbicide-resistant plant. This means that a farmer does not have to worry that the herbicide he uses to kill weeds will damage his plants. Iowa”s Pioneer Hybrid, a large seed distributor, now carries American Cyanamid”s genetically-engineered corn, which is resistant to to its herbicide Pursuit. “We”ve changed the crop to fit the herbicides,” says Mark Atwood, Cyanamid”s vice president of development. “Most Midwest farmers are already using Pursuit on their crops, now all they need to do is plant these seeds.” The company is also developing the same kind of modified wheat, canola and cotton.

Insects are as threatening to crops as weeds, and American Cyanamid is researching ways of eliminating undesirable bugs through natural processes. The company anticipates approval of Pyrolle, a new line of insecticides, in 1995 or 1996. These work by enhancing nature”s way of controlling a wide variety of insects and can be used on cotton, citrus fruits and vegetables.

The pigs and sheep grazing in the fields surrounding the West Windsor research facilities are not there just for show. The company is actively involved in several animal research projects like growing bigger–but not necessarily fatter–pigs .

Much like the increased environmental worries, consumers have expressed a desire for a healthier diet. American Cyanamid is addressing this by researching compounds that can help an animal grow faster, while adding muscle rather than fat. Cyanamid”s Somatotropins, naturally derived proteins, can help cows produce more milk or improve the ratio of lean meat to fat in swine. These products mean that farmers have to use less grain to fatten their herds.

Before they can grow, however, animals must be healthy. Researchers in West Windsor have developed a vaccine to control internal and external parasites in animals. The product, Moxidectrum, is already being used on cattle in South America and sheep and cattle in New Zealand. The company expects it will be approved for use in all major countries by the end of 1993. Scientists in West Windsor are also exploring ways to strengthen an animal”s immune system to prevent infections.

American Cyanamid”s agricultural research is now moving beyond West Windsor. The company recently built field test sites in France, Brazil and Illinois and is constructing another site in Japan. “Year-round testing allows us to get our products to market faster,” explains Crawley. Increased Environmental Protection Agency requirements and Food and Drug Administration regulations mean it takes up to ten years for a product to reach market. Says Atwood: “Some of the things discovered in the greenhouse today will not be products until the 21st Century. We have to be forward-looking and anticipate trends.” n

BOX: “Windows into Basic Research”

American Cyanamid”s Research Division and Rutgers” Cook College in New Brunswick, one of the leading centers of agricultural research, sometimes cooperate on projects. In the summer of 1992 they jointly field tested the firm”s genetically-engineered, herbicide-resistant tobacco plant. Early in 1993, the Rutgers Center for Agricultural Molecular Biology (AgBiotech) and American Cyanamid developed a transgenic turf grass plant that is resistant to Cyanamid”s herbicide Pursuit.

Nilgun Tumer, an associate professor with AgBiotech, has been working on the Pursuit project and is enthusiastic about forming relationships with companies like Cyanamid. “Joint collaboration offers a way to combine expertise at Rutgers with expertise at particular companies,” Tumer explains. “Universities have a lot of knowledge in multiple areas. Companies can tap what they need.”

Peter Day, AgBiotech”s director since the center opened in July 1987, says it has been actively working on research projects with New Jersey corporations for the past four years. AgBiotech currently has strong research relationships with Lawrence-based Envirogen, a start-up bioremediation firm, and with the United States Golf Association in Far Hills, which is supporting application of AgBiotech”s turf grass technology. “Many university science departments see the relationship between academic research and research in companies as increasingly important,” says Day. “We do a lot of forward-looking research that small companies, and even a Cyanamid may find too long-term. Industry sees us as providing windows into basic science.”