Cibus and Interoc Advance Rice Commercialization Strategy for Herbicide-Tolerant Traits in Key Markets across Latin America

Nonbinding Letter of Intent (LOI) sets framework for potential 2027 market entry in Ecuador and Colombia, followed by expansion into Peru, Central America and the Caribbean

Expected to build on success under the existing 2024 material transfer agreement, shifting focus to market execution and revenue generation for co-developed herbicide-tolerant (HT) rice traits

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cibus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBUS), a leading agricultural technology company that develops and licenses plant traits to seed companies, and Interoc, a leading provider of agricultural solutions in Latin America, today announced the execution of a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI). The non-binding LOI establishes a potential framework for the commercialization of co-developed herbicide-tolerant (HT) rice traits in key rice-producing markets across Latin America.

The non-exclusive agreement contemplated by the LOI would mark a significant progression toward full commercialization from the companies' research and development collaboration announced in January 2024. Under the terms of the existing material transfer agreement, Cibus successfully integrated HT traits into Interocs' elite rice germplasm which is advancing to real-world field evaluations.

"The full commercial agreement contemplated by the LOI represents the progression of our collaboration from its successful development phase into commercial execution," said Peter Beetham, Ph.D., Co-founder and Interim CEO of Cibus. "With the technical foundation in place, we are now advancing the commercial framework for placing this critical weed-management technology into the hands of the region's rice growers. Interoc's deep market footprint in Latin America makes them an ideal partner to drive adoption in these highly productive rice markets."

The LOI anticipates that Interoc will market high-performing rice hybrids and varieties for the Latin American market developed using Cibus' Rapid Trait Development System™ (RTDS™). The planned program will leverage herbicide tolerance traits to address critical weed and resistance management needs, aiming to improve yields in a region where productivity is increasingly challenged by resistant weeds, including weedy rice.

"Growers in Latin America are in urgent need of new tools to manage resistant weeds and protect yields," said Fernando De La Puente Corporate Vice President, at Interoc. "This LOI with Cibus positions us to expand our trait portfolio and move aggressively to market. Modern new genomic techniques like gene editing are enabling a new era of productivity in farming, and by combining our elite genetics with Cibus' pioneering technologies, we are advancing our sustainable development goal of improving productivity for farmers across the region."

Under the terms of the LOI, Cibus and Interoc intend to negotiate in good faith toward a definitive licensing and marketing agreement pursuant to which commercial sales would be initiated in Ecuador and Colombia in 2027. Following this anticipated initial launch, the companies are planning a phased expansion into Peru, Central America and the Caribbean, including Panama, Bolivia, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Belize, and Costa Rica. The companies share a strategic objective of achieving robust market share in the regions where the HT trait is commercialized targeting trait adoption on an accelerated basis.

Rice is one of Cibus' lead crops and the first traits for this market are two distinct herbicide tolerances, HT1 and HT3. The performance of both traits has already been assessed by Cibus in multi-location field trials across multiple seasons in the United States, allowing for the rapid advancement of the traits within Interoc's rice germplasm.

Interoc is a company that, through a developed and highly motivated team, provides innovative solutions for agriculture and industry in Latin America. Their clients derive satisfaction and trust from the effectiveness of their service and their commitment to sustainability. Together with Interoc, Cibus believes that they can help address some of the most pressing weed management challenges of Latin America rice growers.

About Cibus

Cibus is a leader in developing traits (characteristics) that address critical productivity, yield and sustainability challenges. Cibus' proprietary high-throughput gene-editing technologies drive its long-term focus on productivity traits for farmers for the major global row crops. Cibus is not a seed company. It is a technology company that uses its gene editing technologies to develop plant traits at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding and to license them to customers in exchange for royalties.

About Interoc

Interoc is a leading agricultural solutions company in Latin America, specializing in research and development (R&D) of crop protection technologies and high-performance hybrid seeds. With over 30 years of experience, we integrate innovation, quality, and a deep understanding of Latin American farmers to boost field productivity and offer reliable products for the agribusiness and large-scale agriculture sectors.

Our commitment is to provide efficient and sustainable agricultural technology aligned with the real needs of the sector and aimed at strengthening the development of agriculture in the region.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included herein, including statements regarding the potential agreement between Cibus and Interoc, the implementation of the commercialization framework contemplated to be established therein and the timing, scale and scope of commercial sales thereunder; the ability of Cibus and Interoc to successfully negotiated a definitive agreement governing the contemplated licensing and marketing relationship between the companies; and the operational and financial performance, strategy, future operations, prospects, and plans of Cibus. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "intend," "expect," "plan," "scheduled," "could," "would" and "will," or the negative of these and similar expressions.

These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and assumptions of Cibus' management about future events, which are based on currently available information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the control of Cibus. Cibus' actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements could be materially different than those expressed, implied, or anticipated by forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: challenges associated with commercial negotiations and the risk that Cibus and Interoc may not be able to achieve a definitive agreement on terms acceptable to the parties; Cibus' need for additional near-term funding to finance its activities and challenges in obtaining additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; changes in expected or existing competition; challenges to Cibus' intellectual property protection and unexpected costs associated with defending intellectual property rights; increased or unanticipated time and resources required for Cibus' platform or trait product development efforts; Cibus' reliance on third parties in connection with its development activities; challenges associated with Cibus' ability to effectively license its productivity traits and sustainable ingredient products; the risk that farmers do not recognize the value in germplasm containing Cibus' traits or that farmers and processors fail to work effectively with crops containing Cibus' traits; delays or disruptions in the Company's platform or trait product development efforts; challenges that arise in respect of Cibus' production of high-quality plants and seeds cost effectively on a large scale; Cibus' dependence on distributions from Cibus Global, LLC to pay taxes and cover its corporate and overhead expenses; regulatory developments that disfavor or impose significant burdens on gene-editing processes or products; commodity prices and other market risks facing the agricultural sector; technological developments that could render Cibus' technologies obsolete; changes in macroeconomic and market conditions, including inflation, supply chain constraints, and rising interest rates; dislocations in the capital markets and challenges in accessing liquidity and the impact of such liquidity challenges on Cibus' ability to execute on its business plan; and other important factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Cibus' Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 20, 2025. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Cibus' views as of the date hereof. Cibus specifically disclaims any obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required under applicable law.

INVESTOR RELATIONS

Jeff Sonnek – ICR

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MEDIA RELATIONS

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Colin Sanford - Bioscribe

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