SLIDE 1
Ag Innovation Showcase September 11, 2013 Matthew B. Crisp
SLIDE 2 Benson Hill Biosystems – Introduction
- Agricultural biotechnology company
- Focus: biotech traits to increase intrinsic crop yield
- Approach: improve photosynthetic efficiency
- Core Technology:
– Collection of proprietary and public domain targets – “Informed” discovery pipeline
- Priority crops: corn, soybean, wheat, rice, sugarcane
- CapEx lite
SLIDE 3
A productivity gap of 9.2% emerges by 2050 without expansion of land under agricultural production. A productivity gap of 9.2% emerges by 2050 without expansion of land under agricultural production.
70-100% increase in productivity is required by 2050
For instance, in soybeans, required yield increases are significantly higher than historical yield increases. For instance, in soybeans, required yield increases are significantly higher than historical yield increases.
SLIDE 4
The Greatest Opportunity in Agriculture: Biotech Traits
Biotech Traits Market in 2009
$9.5 billion
$50 billion
Biotech Traits Market in 2025
11% Projected CAGR to 2025 11% Projected CAGR to 2025
Edgerton, 2009, Plant Physiology
SLIDE 5
The next frontier of agbiotech trait development
The agbiotech industry has been built on successfully Protecting Intrinsic Yield, but biotech has not been adequately leveraged to boost crops’ Intrinsic Yield, Increasing Yield Potential
Intrinsic Yield also known as yield potential, is the yield of a plant when grown in an environment to which it is adapted, with adequate water, nutrients, and with stresses controlled.
70% 70%
Ongoing R&D focus of industry Existing plant yield Yield impact from trait that increases intrinsic yield
SLIDE 6 Focused on developing traits to improve photosynthesis
“fine tuning” to provide genetic variability that
>50% upside in yield by enhancing photosynthesis
multi-genic stacks precisely controlled gene expression Target rate-limiting steps
SLIDE 7 Closing the gap between the genotype and the phenotype
Value enabling/enhancing to effectively integrate:
– Computational biology: mathematical modeling and simulation – Bioinformatics: analyzing large and complex datasets – Systems biology: holistic rather than reductionist approach; ‘omics integration – Synthetic biology: next-gen genetic engineering, novel expression profiles and combinatorial systems
Synthetic Biology
Bioinformatics Systems Biology Computational Biology
Benson Hill is integrating these technologies and focusing them on Photosynthesis.
SLIDE 8 Environmental conditions and photosynthesis are linked
- Example project: used for cross-referencing with photosynthesis network
analyses: 4,128 genes – cold, salt, drought, and heat-responsive
- Stress-associated regulons identify
co-expressed TFs implicated in abiotic stress responses and primary metabolism Brown - Drought Black - Salt Red – Heat Blue – Cold Purple and Green – multiple interactions
SLIDE 9
BHB analytics distill photosynthesis targets from crop gene networks
Gene Network Photosynthetic Subnetwork
336 genes and 93 TFs
Samples from Wheat Automated Proprietary Analytics Pipeline
SLIDE 10 High priority candidate example (BH15)
- First discovered in cyanobacteria
- Significantly improved photosynthetic efficiency, WUE,
and yield in model plants
- Consistent improvement in soybeans
– Greenhouse yield increase of >15% – Field yield increases of >9%
– Co-expressing with genes encoding rate-limiting steps of photosynthesis – Employing spatial and temporal-specific expression profile
SLIDE 11 Path to Commercialization – “Go to Partner”
- Consolidated market
- High barriers to entry
– Germplasm, i.e. plant genetics – Late-stage development – Regulatory expertise – Capital requirements
- Seed are used as value capture mechanism
– Premium pricing for seed containing biotech trait(s) – Retention of minimum 1/3 incremental farm gate value provided by commercialized trait(s)
- Benson Hill is partnering on a crop-by-crop basis
– Non-exclusive deal structures in corn and soybean – Potential for exclusive deal structures in other crops
“GO TO PARTNER” BUSINESS MODEL
SLIDE 12 Facilities and Infrastructure
- Tissue Culture and Transformation Facility (1,985ft2)
- Potting area with soils handling room (1,850ft2)
- 33 Conviron chambers and 20 Conviron rooms (2,784ft2)
- 27 Greenhouses (29,100ft2)
- Bioinformatics Core: 800+ processors, 3 TB memory, and a single,
high-performance 204 TB storage area network
- Other Cores: Proteomics, Mass Spectrometry, Integrated
Microscopy, X-Ray Crystallography
- High-throughput robotics assay platforms
- High-throughput plant phenotyping system
- Benson Hill offices and lab:
– computational and systems biology dry lab – molecular biology; biochemical assay development
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
SLIDE 13 Team
Matthew Crisp, President & CEO
- Former President of Agricultural Biotechnology Division at Intrexon Corporation, a
synthetic biology company
- Former Managing Director at Third Security, LLC, a biotech-focused venture capital firm
with >$2 billion under management
- Extensive experience working with early-stage biotech companies in oversight and
- perational capacities through start-up, growth and commercialization phases
Thomas Brutnell, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer
- Currently a Member and Director of the Enterprise Institute for Renewable Fuels at the
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Former faculty member at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell
University
- Respected leader in photosynthesis research and expert in C4 photosynthetic
differentiation, transcriptomics, plant biology, genomics, and C4 model grass systems
Todd Mockler, PhD, Chief Technology Officer
- Currently a Member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Former faculty member at Oregon State University and a member of the Center for
Genome Research and Biocomputing and the Computational and Genome Biology Initiative
- Recognized expert in functional genomics, bioinformatics, plant systems biology, gene
regulation, predictive modeling, and C3 model systems
SLIDE 14 Summary
- Agriculture production must increase 70-100% by 2050
- New innovations are imperative to meet this requirement
- Benson Hill is developing biotech traits to significantly
increase intrinsic crop yields
- Traits that increase photosynthetic efficiency are applicable
across most major crops
- Many shots on goal - broad set of candidates reduces risk
- A proven business model in the ag industry
- Opportunities for early-stage partnerships
- CapEx lite model with access to significant infrastructure
- Strong leadership and advisory team
SLIDE 15 Use of Funds / Value Drivers
- Demonstrate high priority leads in crop plants
- Validate new candidates in discovery pipeline
- Further establish phenotyping platforms
- Collaborate to obtain additional validation
- Obtain additional non-dilutive investment
- Continue to focus on the IP estate
$7 Million Series A
SLIDE 16
Thank You
