Corteva and Hexagon Bio, a pharmaceutical biotechnology company, today announced a multimillion-dollar joint venture to accelerate the development of new crop protection solutions. The venture is the first in the agriculture sector for Hexagon Bio and the first in the pharmaceutical industry for Corteva. The venture was formed through Corteva Catalyst, Corteva’s investment and collaboration platform. Since its launch in March 2024, Corteva Catalyst has partnered with 11 companies across its portfolio, investing in biologicals, gene editing and other technology platforms. Hexagon Bio’s platform combines microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, chemistry and synthetic biology to identify and characterize novel natural products. Natural products have led to advancements in human, plant and animal health from antibiotics like penicillin and the taxane class of cancer medicines, to fungicides and insecticides that protect staple food crops around the world against damaging pests and diseases. “Our partnership with Hexagon Bio expands our discovery engine, taking our crop protection innovation to the next level,” Sam Eathington, chief technology and digital officer for Corteva, said in a news release. “As demand for nature-inspired solutions continues to grow, this collaboration allows us to move faster and think bigger to provide farmers with the latest options in effective and sustainable tools.”