Syngenta and DuPont Reach Agreement on Lawsuits

WILMINGTON, Del. and BASEL, Switzerland,  November 29, 2004  —  Syngenta and DuPont announced today an agreement that settles infringement claims between the seed businesses of the two companies.

The agreement settles claims Syngenta Seeds, Inc., had brought against DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., in a 2002 patent infringement lawsuit involving Pioneer, Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences and Mycogen, a wholly owned affiliate of Dow AgroSciences. Under the agreement, Pioneer receives a commercial license to Syngenta patents relating to Herculex1 and YieldGard2 insect resistant corn traits.

The companies also settled claims Pioneer brought against Syngenta in 2002. Pioneer had asserted that Syngenta inappropriately acquired Pioneer proprietary genetic material 15 years ago through a practice known as "chasing selfs." Syngenta has since terminated the practice.

Additional details of the agreements were not disclosed.

"We are pleased to have reached this agreement which recognizes the value of our intellectual property rights," said David Jones, head of Business Development at Syngenta.

"This agreement is good news for farmers," said Dean Oestreich, Pioneer president. "It helps ensure we'll continue to bring the new agricultural technologies that farmers want in the seed brand they prefer to plant, while confirming the importance of germplasm intellectual property protection."

Syngenta's ongoing lawsuit seeks damages and injunctive relief to stop Monsanto, Dow and Mycogen from selling Herculex¹ and YieldGard² insect resistant corn traits. Trial in this lawsuit begins today in US District Court in Delaware.

Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2003 were approximately $6.6 billion. Syngenta employs some 19,000 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further information is available at www.syngenta.com.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; and seasonality of sales of agricultural products.

#   #   #

11/29/04

¹Herculex is a trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC.
²YieldGard is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company.