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Divergence, a world leader in the application of comparative and functional genomics to agriculture and infectious disease, is dedicated to the discovery of highly effective and ecologically sound strategies for parasite control. The Company's initial focus is on the critical unmet need to control plant, animal, and human parasitic nematodes (commonly referred to as roundworms). Nematodes are one of the major agricultural pests in the world, causing significant damage to dozens of major crops. Current nematicides are environmentally dangerous, expensive, and difficult to use. Nematodes are also major pathogens of humans, companion animals, and livestock causing a range of diseases including hookworm, lymphatic filariasis, and heartworm. Divergence's innovative discovery methods can also be applied to other pests, such as insects, and infectious disease-causing organisms including protozoan parasites and fungal pathogens. One of the major barriers to the discovery of new methods of parasite control has been discovering molecules that are selective for the infecting organism rather than general toxins. Achieving selectivity has been a particular challenge for eukaryotic and especially metazoan pathogens such as nematodes (roundworms) and arthropods (including insects). Despite millions of years of evolutionary separation, metazoan still have much of their cellular structures and core molecular machinery in common, including neuronal and muscular physiology and most characterized biochemical and signal transduction pathways. Most efficacious molecules to emerge from whole-organism screens in recent decades have exhibited cross-toxicity with the host or other non-target organisms. Divergence has developed a cutting-edge discovery platform in comparative and functional genomics that enables the accelerated identification and prioritization of molecular targets for parasite control. Divergence's proprietary target gene collection includes newly identified enzymes and receptors essential for nematode survival that are absent from humans and other non-target organisms. This strategy directs research away from molecules that could have host organism toxicity, focusing instead on targets that are pharmacologically distinct and vital for the life cycle of the infecting organism. This approach provides Divergence and its collaborators with an enormous advantage because it decreases the risk of late-stage project failure due to product safety or environmental issues and can potentially decrease the time and cost of regulatory studies. Divergence combines its innovative approaches to target selection and validation with state-of-the-art in house and collaborative programs in chemical lead identification through molecular expression, biochemistry, chemical synthesis and SAR (structure-activity-relationship) model development, in vitro and in vivo physiological screens, rapid in planta testing systems for parasite control, and toxicity testing, allowing the progression of lead molecules from test tube to field. Cost and time-effective systems have also been developed for in planta testing of transgenic parasite resistance traits. Divergence's experienced science professionals combine extensive expertise in both agrochemical and veterinary pharmacology product discovery and development with leading capabilities in the use of the genetic model system C. elegans. Divergence is exploring and implementing commercial partnerships with leading companies in crop protection and pharmaceuticals to rapidly commercialize products resulting from its research. The company leverages its research strengths through intellectual property positions which cover multiple compounds and delivery systems, multiple hosts, and multiple pathogens. Over 30 patents have been filed on gene sequences as well as nematicidal chemistries and transgenes resulting from discoveries using these targets. Divergence's business team has extensive experience in biotechnology licensing, product development, strategic planning with companies such as Monsanto and Fort Dodge, and its board of directors includes former leaders of two of the world's leading hybrid seed companies, Pioneer Hi-Bred and DeKalb Corporation. Divergence Inc. is part of the St. Louis BioBelt (http://www.biobelt.org/) a world-class center for plant and life sciences research, investment and business opportunity. The BioBelt is home to 390 plant and life sciences enterprises employing 22,000 and generating more than $10.5 billion in direct and indirect annual economic impact. Divergence Inc. collaborates with multiple St. Louis-based academic and commercial institutions including Washington University School of Medicine, the number 2 ranked medical school in the United States, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a leading institute for plant biology working to increase agricultural production world-wide, and Tripos Inc., a pioneer in cheminformatics and supplier of chemistry-research products and services for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. Above left: The nematode C. elegans, stained to show its DNA, is overlaid on the image of a fluorescent DNA sequencing gel.