{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"170026","rtpr_id":"nGNX2V4ddF-20261015","ticker":"SEED","exchange":"NASDAQ","all_tickers":["SEED"],"title":"Origin Launches Stress-Tolerant Corn Breeding for Southwest China Markets, with Supports from Guizhou State Entities","author":"Globe Newswire","published_at":"2026-10-15T11:00:00.847Z","article_body":"BEIJING, Oct. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ:\nSEED) (\"Origin\" or the \"Company\"), a leading Chinese agricultural technology\ncompany, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Guizhou Origin\nBiotechnology Co., Ltd. (\"Guizhou Origin\"), launches stress-tolerant corn\nbreeding project as a part of the “Transformation and Promotion of Major\nAchievements in High-Yield and Stress-Tolerant Corn in the Mountainous\nSouthwest” project under the 2026 Provincial-Municipal Joint Industrial\nScience and Technology Innovation Project (First Batch), running from\nSeptember 2026 to August 2029. Guizhou Origin has been approved to receive RMB\n1.098 million (approximately US$152,000) in science and technology funding\nfrom the Guizhou Provincial Department of Science and Technology. The\nDepartment announced the project on September 15, 2026; disbursement to\nGuizhou Origin is subject to final administrative procedures.\n\n\"Guizhou Origin is our main biotechnology center and our base for research and\nbusiness development in Southwest China and Southeast Asia,\" said Weibin Yan,\nChief Executive Officer of Origin Agritech. \"After several months of start-up,\nits laboratories and other facilities are up and running, and the team is in\nplace. The local government and our partners have given us strong support\nbecause of the talent, strategic plans, germplasm, and technology we bring,\nand this award reflects that confidence.\"\n\nKey facts\n\n ● Recipient: Guizhou Origin Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (\"Guizhou Origin\"), wholly owned subsidiary of Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ: SEED), based in Kaiyang County, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China \n \n ● Funding source: Guizhou Provincial Department of Science and Technology \n \n ● Amount approved: RMB 1.098 million (approximately US$152,000) in science and technology funding; disbursement subject to final administrative procedures \n \n ● Program: 2026 Provincial-Municipal Joint Industrial Science and Technology Innovation Project (First Batch) \n \n ● Project: \"Transformation and Promotion of Major Achievements in High-Yield and Stress-Tolerant Corn in the Mountainous Southwest\" \n \n ● Project lead and partners: Guizhou Modern Seed Industry Group Co., Ltd. (lead); Guizhou Institute of Upland Crops; China Agricultural University; Guizhou Origin; other institutions \n \n ● Project period: September 2026 to August 2029 (three years) \n \n ● Total project budget: RMB 24.32 million (approximately US$3.4 million), including RMB 7.32 million (approximately US$1.0 million) of provincial fiscal funding allocated across all participants \n \n ● Guizhou Origin's role: Task 1, the integrated commercial corn biotechnology breeding system led by China Agricultural University: germplasm screening, multi-trait breeding materials, hybrid selection, One-Step Line Formation haploid induction editing, and doubled haploid (DH) line production at scale \n\nPublic announcement: Guizhou Provincial Department of Science and Technology,\nSeptember 15, 2026, available\nat https://kjt.guizhou.gov.cn/xwzx/tzgg_73876/202609/t20260915_90872957.html\n\nWhat the project will do\n\nCorn in Southwest China is grown largely on fragmented, sloping mountain land,\nwhere varieties need stress tolerance, stable yields, and broad adaptability.\nThe project is organized into three tasks:\n\n 1. An integrated commercial corn biotechnology breeding system, led by China Agricultural University. \n \n 2. Creation of temperate-tropical corn germplasm and demonstration of new varieties, led by the Guizhou Institute of Upland Crops. \n \n 3. Integrated demonstration and commercial application, led by Guizhou Modern Seed Industry Group. \n\nWhat Guizhou Origin will contribute\n\nGuizhou Origin participates in Task 1, applying its biotechnology platforms\nto:\n\n ● identify and screen elite corn germplasm with precision; \n \n ● create breeding materials that combine multiple elite traits; \n \n ● select high-yield, stress-tolerant commercial corn hybrids; \n \n ● apply its One-Step Line Formation haploid induction editing technology to stack target traits and create germplasm adapted to the Southwest; and \n \n ● produce doubled haploid (DH) lines at scale. \n\nDoubled haploid breeding produces fully inbred lines in a single generation,\nremoving several seasons of conventional self-pollination from the breeding\ncycle. Guizhou Origin's DH platform has an annual capacity of 100,000 DH lines\nand operates alongside its genetic transformation services and its China\nAgricultural University Professor Workstation.\n\nGuizhou Origin's R&D center in Kaiyang County, Guiyang, which Origin opened as\nits Southwest R&D Center in August 2026, includes a 4,000-square-meter\nexperimental zone, a 600-square-meter molecular testing platform, a\n2,000-square-meter tissue culture platform, more than 15,000 square meters of\nintelligent greenhouses, and approximately 160 mu (about 10.7 hectares, or 26\nacres) of field trial land.\n\nProject targets through 2029\n\nThe project's stated targets, across all participants, are new corn varieties\npromoted on 3 million mu (200,000 hectares); direct economic income of RMB 180\nmillion (approximately US$25.0 million); a yield increase of 10% or more in\ncore demonstration zones; a 15% reduction in pesticide and fertilizer use;\n2,000 mu (about 133 hectares) of seed production bases; and the training of at\nleast 10 personnel with intermediate or higher professional titles. Targeted\nresearch outputs include 13 new plant variety rights applications, 20,000 DH\ngermplasm materials, four to five patent applications, five academic papers\n(two in SCI-indexed journals), and nine enterprise technical standards.\n\nWhat it means for Origin Agritech\n\nThe award places Guizhou Origin inside Guizhou Province's corn breeding\nprogram for the next three years, working alongside the province's seed\nindustry group and China Agricultural University. It puts the biotechnology\nplatforms Origin built in Guizhou to work on a regional market with distinct\nbreeding needs, and it supports the Company's strategy of building a\nbiotechnology-led breeding platform and bringing new varieties to regional\nmarkets across China.\n\nAbout Origin Agritech Limited\n\nOrigin Agritech Limited, founded in 1997 and headquartered at the Origin R&D\nCenter in Songzhuang, Tongzhou, Beijing, is a leading Chinese agricultural\ntechnology company. In crop seed biotechnology, Origin Agritech's phytase corn\nwas the first transgenic corn to receive a Biosafety Certificate from China's\nMinistry of Agriculture. Over the years, Origin has established a robust\nbiotechnology seed pipeline, including products with glyphosate tolerance and\nBt (pest resistance) traits. For further information, please visit the\nCompany's website at www.originagritech.com. The Company also maintains an X\naccount to update investors on Company and industry developments, available at\nhttps://x.com/origin_agritech.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\n\nThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of\nthe Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements\nregarding the disbursement of the provincial funding to Guizhou Origin,\nGuizhou Origin's participation in and contributions to the project, the\nproject's targets for variety promotion, yields, input use, economic income,\nand research outputs, the expected benefits of the project to growers and to\nthe Company, Guizhou Origin's role as the Company's base for research and\nbusiness development in Southwest China and Southeast Asia, and the Company's\nstrategy of building a biotechnology-led breeding platform and bringing new\nvarieties to regional markets. Words such as \"expect,\" \"anticipate,\" \"intend,\"\n\"plan,\" \"believe,\" \"seek,\" \"will,\" \"would,\" \"target,\" and similar expressions\nidentify forward-looking statements. The project targets described in this\npress release apply to the project as a whole, across all participants, and\nare not forecasts of the Company's results. These statements involve known and\nunknown risks and uncertainties -- including the risk that disbursement of the\nfunding is delayed, reduced, or does not occur if final administrative\nprocedures are not completed, changes in provincial funding priorities or\nproject terms, Guizhou Origin's reliance on the project lead and other\nparticipants, the risk that the project does not meet its targets, field trial\nresults, weather and growing conditions in mountainous areas, the time and\ncost of regulatory approval for new and biotechnology-derived varieties,\ngrower adoption of new varieties, competitive variety introductions, pricing\npressure in the Chinese seed market, regulatory and agricultural policy\ndevelopments in China and in other markets the Company may enter, currency\nfluctuation, and the Company's ability to staff, fund, and operate its Guizhou\nfacilities -- which may cause actual results to differ materially from those\nexpressed or implied. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future\nperformance. Origin Agritech undertakes no obligation to update or revise any\nforward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future\nevents, or otherwise, except as required by securities and other applicable\nlaws.\n\nFor more information, please contact:\n\nOrigin Agritech Limited Contact:\n\nKate Lang (Mandarin/English)\nDirector of Investor Relations\nPhone: +86 186-1839-3368\nEmail: bing.lang@originseed.com.cn\n\nInvestor Relations Contact:\n\nMatthew Abenante, IRC\nPresident\nStrategic Investor Relations LLC\nTel: 347-947-2093\nEmail: matthew@strategic-ir.com\n\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nGNX2V4ddF-20261015","title":"Origin Launches Stress-Tolerant Corn Breeding for Southwest China Markets, with Supports from Guizhou State Entities","author":"Globe Newswire","ticker":"SEED","created":"2026-10-15T11:00:00.847Z","tickers":["SEED"],"exchange":"NASDAQ","article_body":"BEIJING, Oct. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ:\nSEED) (\"Origin\" or the \"Company\"), a leading Chinese agricultural technology\ncompany, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Guizhou Origin\nBiotechnology Co., Ltd. (\"Guizhou Origin\"), launches stress-tolerant corn\nbreeding project as a part of the “Transformation and Promotion of Major\nAchievements in High-Yield and Stress-Tolerant Corn in the Mountainous\nSouthwest” project under the 2026 Provincial-Municipal Joint Industrial\nScience and Technology Innovation Project (First Batch), running from\nSeptember 2026 to August 2029. Guizhou Origin has been approved to receive RMB\n1.098 million (approximately US$152,000) in science and technology funding\nfrom the Guizhou Provincial Department of Science and Technology. The\nDepartment announced the project on September 15, 2026; disbursement to\nGuizhou Origin is subject to final administrative procedures.\n\n\"Guizhou Origin is our main biotechnology center and our base for research and\nbusiness development in Southwest China and Southeast Asia,\" said Weibin Yan,\nChief Executive Officer of Origin Agritech. \"After several months of start-up,\nits laboratories and other facilities are up and running, and the team is in\nplace. The local government and our partners have given us strong support\nbecause of the talent, strategic plans, germplasm, and technology we bring,\nand this award reflects that confidence.\"\n\nKey facts\n\n ● Recipient: Guizhou Origin Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (\"Guizhou Origin\"), wholly owned subsidiary of Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ: SEED), based in Kaiyang County, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China \n \n ● Funding source: Guizhou Provincial Department of Science and Technology \n \n ● Amount approved: RMB 1.098 million (approximately US$152,000) in science and technology funding; disbursement subject to final administrative procedures \n \n ● Program: 2026 Provincial-Municipal Joint Industrial Science and Technology Innovation Project (First Batch) \n \n ● Project: \"Transformation and Promotion of Major Achievements in High-Yield and Stress-Tolerant Corn in the Mountainous Southwest\" \n \n ● Project lead and partners: Guizhou Modern Seed Industry Group Co., Ltd. (lead); Guizhou Institute of Upland Crops; China Agricultural University; Guizhou Origin; other institutions \n \n ● Project period: September 2026 to August 2029 (three years) \n \n ● Total project budget: RMB 24.32 million (approximately US$3.4 million), including RMB 7.32 million (approximately US$1.0 million) of provincial fiscal funding allocated across all participants \n \n ● Guizhou Origin's role: Task 1, the integrated commercial corn biotechnology breeding system led by China Agricultural University: germplasm screening, multi-trait breeding materials, hybrid selection, One-Step Line Formation haploid induction editing, and doubled haploid (DH) line production at scale \n\nPublic announcement: Guizhou Provincial Department of Science and Technology,\nSeptember 15, 2026, available\nat https://kjt.guizhou.gov.cn/xwzx/tzgg_73876/202609/t20260915_90872957.html\n\nWhat the project will do\n\nCorn in Southwest China is grown largely on fragmented, sloping mountain land,\nwhere varieties need stress tolerance, stable yields, and broad adaptability.\nThe project is organized into three tasks:\n\n 1. An integrated commercial corn biotechnology breeding system, led by China Agricultural University. \n \n 2. Creation of temperate-tropical corn germplasm and demonstration of new varieties, led by the Guizhou Institute of Upland Crops. \n \n 3. Integrated demonstration and commercial application, led by Guizhou Modern Seed Industry Group. \n\nWhat Guizhou Origin will contribute\n\nGuizhou Origin participates in Task 1, applying its biotechnology platforms\nto:\n\n ● identify and screen elite corn germplasm with precision; \n \n ● create breeding materials that combine multiple elite traits; \n \n ● select high-yield, stress-tolerant commercial corn hybrids; \n \n ● apply its One-Step Line Formation haploid induction editing technology to stack target traits and create germplasm adapted to the Southwest; and \n \n ● produce doubled haploid (DH) lines at scale. \n\nDoubled haploid breeding produces fully inbred lines in a single generation,\nremoving several seasons of conventional self-pollination from the breeding\ncycle. Guizhou Origin's DH platform has an annual capacity of 100,000 DH lines\nand operates alongside its genetic transformation services and its China\nAgricultural University Professor Workstation.\n\nGuizhou Origin's R&D center in Kaiyang County, Guiyang, which Origin opened as\nits Southwest R&D Center in August 2026, includes a 4,000-square-meter\nexperimental zone, a 600-square-meter molecular testing platform, a\n2,000-square-meter tissue culture platform, more than 15,000 square meters of\nintelligent greenhouses, and approximately 160 mu (about 10.7 hectares, or 26\nacres) of field trial land.\n\nProject targets through 2029\n\nThe project's stated targets, across all participants, are new corn varieties\npromoted on 3 million mu (200,000 hectares); direct economic income of RMB 180\nmillion (approximately US$25.0 million); a yield increase of 10% or more in\ncore demonstration zones; a 15% reduction in pesticide and fertilizer use;\n2,000 mu (about 133 hectares) of seed production bases; and the training of at\nleast 10 personnel with intermediate or higher professional titles. Targeted\nresearch outputs include 13 new plant variety rights applications, 20,000 DH\ngermplasm materials, four to five patent applications, five academic papers\n(two in SCI-indexed journals), and nine enterprise technical standards.\n\nWhat it means for Origin Agritech\n\nThe award places Guizhou Origin inside Guizhou Province's corn breeding\nprogram for the next three years, working alongside the province's seed\nindustry group and China Agricultural University. It puts the biotechnology\nplatforms Origin built in Guizhou to work on a regional market with distinct\nbreeding needs, and it supports the Company's strategy of building a\nbiotechnology-led breeding platform and bringing new varieties to regional\nmarkets across China.\n\nAbout Origin Agritech Limited\n\nOrigin Agritech Limited, founded in 1997 and headquartered at the Origin R&D\nCenter in Songzhuang, Tongzhou, Beijing, is a leading Chinese agricultural\ntechnology company. In crop seed biotechnology, Origin Agritech's phytase corn\nwas the first transgenic corn to receive a Biosafety Certificate from China's\nMinistry of Agriculture. Over the years, Origin has established a robust\nbiotechnology seed pipeline, including products with glyphosate tolerance and\nBt (pest resistance) traits. For further information, please visit the\nCompany's website at www.originagritech.com. The Company also maintains an X\naccount to update investors on Company and industry developments, available at\nhttps://x.com/origin_agritech.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\n\nThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of\nthe Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements\nregarding the disbursement of the provincial funding to Guizhou Origin,\nGuizhou Origin's participation in and contributions to the project, the\nproject's targets for variety promotion, yields, input use, economic income,\nand research outputs, the expected benefits of the project to growers and to\nthe Company, Guizhou Origin's role as the Company's base for research and\nbusiness development in Southwest China and Southeast Asia, and the Company's\nstrategy of building a biotechnology-led breeding platform and bringing new\nvarieties to regional markets. Words such as \"expect,\" \"anticipate,\" \"intend,\"\n\"plan,\" \"believe,\" \"seek,\" \"will,\" \"would,\" \"target,\" and similar expressions\nidentify forward-looking statements. The project targets described in this\npress release apply to the project as a whole, across all participants, and\nare not forecasts of the Company's results. These statements involve known and\nunknown risks and uncertainties -- including the risk that disbursement of the\nfunding is delayed, reduced, or does not occur if final administrative\nprocedures are not completed, changes in provincial funding priorities or\nproject terms, Guizhou Origin's reliance on the project lead and other\nparticipants, the risk that the project does not meet its targets, field trial\nresults, weather and growing conditions in mountainous areas, the time and\ncost of regulatory approval for new and biotechnology-derived varieties,\ngrower adoption of new varieties, competitive variety introductions, pricing\npressure in the Chinese seed market, regulatory and agricultural policy\ndevelopments in China and in other markets the Company may enter, currency\nfluctuation, and the Company's ability to staff, fund, and operate its Guizhou\nfacilities -- which may cause actual results to differ materially from those\nexpressed or implied. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future\nperformance. Origin Agritech undertakes no obligation to update or revise any\nforward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future\nevents, or otherwise, except as required by securities and other applicable\nlaws.\n\nFor more information, please contact:\n\nOrigin Agritech Limited Contact:\n\nKate Lang (Mandarin/English)\nDirector of Investor Relations\nPhone: +86 186-1839-3368\nEmail: bing.lang@originseed.com.cn\n\nInvestor Relations Contact:\n\nMatthew Abenante, IRC\nPresident\nStrategic Investor Relations LLC\nTel: 347-947-2093\nEmail: matthew@strategic-ir.com\n\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-10-15T11:00:00.900373496Z","server_sent_at_ms":1792062000900},"received_at":"2026-10-15T11:00:00.951Z","source_url":null},"analysis":null,"durationMs":null,"modelName":null}}