Resurrect Bio, a biotechnology company based at Norwich Research Park that equips crops with genetic defences against disease, has announced a joint development agreement with Corteva, a global leader in agriculture technology, to tackle some of the most economically devastating diseases currently affecting corn production in the United States. Corteva recently led the Series A investment in Resurrect Bio through its Corteva Catalyst platform.
The project will leverage Resurrect Bio’s in planta rapid screening platform to identify and ‘resurrect’ innate disease resistance genes that have been defeated or suppressed by evolving pathogens.
Resurrect Bio’s approach targets the ‘cat-and-mouse’ evolutionary game between plants and pathogens. Many modern crops possess the genetic machinery to defend themselves, but pathogens have evolved proteins that specifically break these internal locks.
Resurrect Bio uses its FloraFold® AI and unique in planta screening platform to model these complex protein-to-protein interactions at the molecular level. By identifying the exact point of failure where a pathogen overcomes a plant’s defence, Resurrect Bio can effectively upgrade the plant’s security system so the pathogen can no longer bypass it.
Dr. Cian Duggan, CEO & co-founder of Resurrect Bio, said, “This agreement marks a pivotal shift for Resurrect Bio as we move our technology closer to the field with a leader like Corteva. We aren’t just looking to make plants slightly better; we are looking to restore an ancestral resilience that pathogens have spent centuries trying to suppress. By fixing these broken immune receptors, we provide farmers with a durable, biological shield against corn’s most persistent threats.”
In 2025, disease reduced US corn yields by an estimated 1.2bn bushels. Combining Resurrect Bio’s high-throughput trait development with Corteva’s world-class germplasm and trial networks, the partnership aims to deliver elite corn varieties that require fewer chemical inputs while maintaining peak performance under high disease pressure.
Wendy Srnic, vice president of biotechnology for Corteva said, “By leveraging the contributions of Resurrect Bio’s FloraFold® AI platform with our industry-leading Genlytix™ ecosystem and our world class genetics resources, we’re excited about the new solutions this collaboration can deliver for U.S. corn farmers. We are committed to discovering novel and natural pathways that can help farmers mitigate the threats posed by these devastating diseases, both now and into the future.”
The agreement underscores Resurrect Bio’s commitment to sustainable intensification. As climate change and other pressures shift the geographic range of pathogens, the ability to rapidly update a crop’s immune system through gene editing will enable us to ensure food security and sustainable farming.
