Global agrichemical company FMC and crop protection and seed company Corteva entered into a co-exclusive strategic and license agreement to expand access to FMC’s rimisoxafen technology in North and South America for use in corn and soybean production.
Per the agreement, FMC retains ownership of rimisoxafen, supplying the active to Corteva, which already made a $200 million pre-purchase, the companies shared in a press release. Then, both companies will develop their own premix formulations for North and South America, while FMC will make rimisoxafen-based crop protections for other geographies.
Classified as a dual-mode-of-action herbicide by the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee, rimisoxafen is an active chemical that can manage palmer amaranth and waterhemp weeds, which are increasingly resistant to herbicides. The herbicide is pending regulatory approval, but first commercial sales are expected by the end of this decade.
“By collaborating with FMC on rimisoxafen, we are expanding our ability to provide growers with advanced weed control tools that complement our portfolio. This agreement supports our long-term strategy of forging new collaborations that drive value for farmers, as well as a unique growth opportunity with attractive economics for Corteva above our current deep crop protection pipeline set to launch over the next decade,” said Cynthia Ericson, Corteva VP of weed control segment, in a press release.
Corteva, FMC at crossroads
The partnership between FMC and Corteva comes as both companies find themselves at crossroads. Corteva is inching closer to its fourth quarter 2026 spin-off, having announced the headquarters, executive teams, and the names of the separate entities.
On the other hand, FMC is seeking to pay off nearly $1 billion in debt by improving the competitiveness of its core products, moving its insecticide Rynaxypyr through the post-patent phase, and spurring growth in its herbicide actives Isoflex and Dodhylex and its fungicide fluindapyr, the company shared in its first quarter 2026 earnings.
The crop chemical industry is “highly fragmented,” with FMC having a 7% market share despite being the fifth largest provider, explained the company’s CEO Pierre Brondeau during an interview at the Wolfe Research 3rd Annual Materials of the Future Conference. FMC can expand market reach and share by partnering with crop protection companies like Corteva on actives like rimisoxafen, he added.
“When you have a molecule of that quality, which has that capabilities, you need to find partners to reach the broadest possible market, and you need to find partners, which have maybe a more complementary portfolio than we do, which is Corteva. ... It increased significantly the size of the market potential for us, and the ability to sell that molecule,” elaborated Brondeau on the rimisoxafen partnership.
