Spanish seed company Semillas Fitó has entered a long-term partnership with Dutch genome-editing specialist Hudson River Biotechnology to create new genetic variation in tomato breeding lines. Initial work will target disease and pest resistance, alongside consumer-focused traits such as shelf life and nutritional value.
The collaboration combines Fitó’s germplasm and breeding expertise with Hudson River’s BioMaas genome-editing platform and trait-development capabilities. Together, the companies aim to address challenges including changing growing conditions, disease pressure, reduced agrochemical use and evolving consumer demands.
“Successful breeding starts with understanding what growers, the value chain and consumers need,” said Laia Fitó, chief R&D officer at Semillas Fitó. The partnership will help the company “bring more successful varieties to market faster”, she added.
Positioning for the NGT era
The deal comes as European breeders prepare for the EU’s proposed regulatory framework for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), which is expected to take effect in 2028. Both companies said the collaboration would help ensure they are ready as the regulatory landscape evolves.
While the UK already regulates many gene-edited crops separately from GMOs, the EU is taking a more cautious approach, retaining regulatory checks, traceability requirements and restrictions on certain applications of the technology. Even so, the prospect of a clearer regulatory pathway appears to be stimulating investment and collaboration across the seed sector.
Speaking to AgNavigator at the recent World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London, Lotte Westerhof, chief scientific officer at Hudson River Biotechnology, said regulatory progress was “100%” the factor driving increased interest in gene editing.
“The technology has been there for a long time,” she said. “As a risk for a company, that has been taken away. We noticed that immediately. Everybody is now embracing this technology.”
Partnership momentum builds
The Fitó agreement is the latest in a series of partnerships for Hudson River Biotechnology. Last month, the company partnered with Biographica to help breeders translate trait discoveries into commercial-ready plants, initially focusing on tomato. It also teamed up with plant-engineering company Plantik to develop heat-tolerant strawberries using transgene-free genome editing.
