Solis Agrosciences Announces Expansion of Leadership Team

Jan. 11, 2024  – ST. LOUIS – Solis Agrosciences, created to provide R&D crop development services, today announced the appointments of Charlie Bolten as Chief Executive Officer and Susan Martino-Catt, PhD, as Chief Operating Officer.

“Solis is off to a fantastic start, and we are excited to have the opportunity to bring such strong management talent into the company,” said Solis Co-founder and Board Chair Martha Schlicher, PhD. “I’ve worked closely with Charlie and Susan for years and know that they are the right leaders to help accelerate the Solis vision.”

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Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions, Inc. Signs License Agreement for CRISPR-Cas9 Genome-Editing Technology with the Broad Institute and Corteva Agriscience

PRNewswire – Sept. 5, 2023  – RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions, Inc., an agricultural technology company focused on providing natural and sustainable herbicide solutions, announced today that it has executed a joint intellectual property licensing agreement with Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for foundational CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene editing tools to further research and develop Harpe Bioherbicide tolerant crop systems.

Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions is collaborating with Saint Louis based Solis Agrosciences to accelerate the development of Harpe’s herbicide tolerant crop systems. Solis provides cutting edge R&D services and an end-to-end pipeline that designs, generates and tests transgenic and gene edited plants speedily and cost-effectively.

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Solis Raises Growth Capital in Expanded Round Led By Hermann, McKelvey, and BioGenerator Ventures

PRNewswire – Dec. 8, 2022  – ST. LOUIS – Solis Agrosciences, created to provide R&D crop development services to Agtech  companies, today announced that it closed on major growth capital financing led by Hermann Companies, Jim McKelvey, and BioGenerator Ventures. The funding will allow Solis to expand with  additional talent and infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing  customer base.

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Solis Co-Founder Mary Fernandes speaks on "Reimagining Innovation" at Plant Genomics Congress

GlobalEngage – October 25, 2022 – RALEIGH – Solis President and co-founder Dr. Mary Fernandes presents at the 9th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress about the challenges our world faces as a result of climate change and food insecurity, the main bottlenecks to agtech innovation across industry and academia, and how Solis Agrosciences is working to build a more supportive ecosystem that reimagines innovation. Mary discusses the importance of actively surfacing more ideas and rapidly accelerating the current pace of idea testing. Great ideas are everywhere; Solis’ mission is to democratize access to the tools, talent, and infrastructure needed to enable rapid acceleration from ideation to invention and innovation.

Solis Agrosciences Team Presents at 9th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress

GlobalEngage – October 24, 2022 – RALEIGH – Solis Agrosciences is proud to be a silver sponsor for the 9th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress, co-located with the Biocontrol, Biostimulants, & Microbiome Congress. Members of the Solis team are in Raleigh, North Carolina on October 24th and 25th presenting about the Solis Plant Pipeline as a Service™ and opportunities to accelerate plant innovation.

Meet the Founder: Solis’ Mary Fernandes on Agbiotech, Immigration, and Female Entrepreneurship

AgFunderNews – October 14, 2022 – ST. LOUIS – Solis Agrosciences co-founder Mary Fernandes is a veteran of the agtech world, having spent time at both Monsanto and Bayer (which acquired Monsanto a few years ago). In May, she launched Solis Agrosciences, a platform that assists ag biotech startups with their research and development needs. Ag biotech startups can outsource many of the complex processes and equipment requirements to Solis, who will provide the required tools and talent for creating and growing genetically-modified plants. During lunch at AgTech NEXT this week, Fernandes shared her journey from Big Ag to a startup, along with many other thoughts on the future of biotech, role of farmers, and how her experience as a woman and an immigrant has informed her work.

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Solis President Dr. Mary Fernandes Speaks at InfoAg 2022 on the Future of AgTech

InfoAg – July 26, 2022 – ST. LOUIS –  Solis Agrosciences President & Co-Founder Dr. Mary Fernandes (center) speaks at InfoAg 2022, alongside co-panelists from BioSTL, Bayer/Climate, and Esri.  The panel, titled, “The Future of AgTech: What’s Coming in the Next 5-10 Years?” focuses on new technologies with applicability to agriculture in the research and development stage. Speakers discuss the current and future implications of technologies such as gene editing on agriculture, and their real-world applicability for growers.

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Solis Agrosciences Launches to Accelerate Agbiotech Startup Innovation

AgFunderNews – May 16, 2022 – ST. LOUIS –  Solis Agrosciences, a new company out of St. Louis, Missouri, has just launched its “Plant Pipeline as a Service” platform to assist ag biotech startups with their research and development needs on the road to commercialization.  Through its fee-for-service model, Solis can create transgenic and gene-edited plants for startups in addition to connecting those companies with resources, infrastructure, and talent needed to get products into growers’ hands faster.

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Solis Agrosciences Delivers Specialized Research Services for AgriFoodTech Innovators

PRNewswire – May 16, 2022 – ST. LOUIS –  New startup Solis Agrosciences enters the market to make plant science innovation faster and simpler … Solis was founded by BioGenerator, the startup arm of BioSTL, in collaboration with startup executives Martha Schlicher, Mary Fernandes, and David Smoller to fill a need for specialized research support. In addition to equity-based funding provided by BioGenerator Ventures, Solis has leveraged IN2 funding to build its operational capacities. The team has launched scientific operations at the BioGenerator@Helix Labs in St. Louis’ 39 North Innovation District. Mary Fernandes, PhD., will serve as President of Solis, bringing 25 years of R&D expertise in AgTech and genomics at Bayer and Monsanto.

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