Citrus greening has had a massive impact on citrus production globally, with Florida being especially hard hit with 2023 production down 80% from its pre-disease peak.

Silvec Biologics, a Maryland based agtech company that develops RNA-based plant protection

products, is pleased to announce that a first-of-its-kind RNA vector delivery product, developed
in collaboration with Southern Gardens Citrus (a subsidiary of U. S. Sugar), University of Florida,
and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, to combat the devastating and incurable citrus greening
disease, has progressed to the Full Science Review Phase of the EPA Pesticide Regulation
Improvement Act (PRIA) registration process following successful completion of Milestone #4 -
Technical Screen in July 2024.

Citrus greening has had a massive impact on citrus production globally, with Florida being
especially hard hit with 2023 production down 80% from its pre-disease peak. Silvec is the
exclusive sublicensee of U.S. Sugar's novel delivery vector developed in conjunction with the
University of Florida and antimicrobial peptide technologies developed by Texas A&M AgriLife
Research.

The product is based on a mild and naturally untransmittable version of a virus found in most
citrus trees that has been reprogrammed to express a natural antimicrobial peptide found in
spinach. A single application has been demonstrated in field trials to provide long-term
reduction in yield declines caused by the citrus greening bacteria. This product is the first of its
kind to use a viral vector to reduce damage from pathogens, is compatible with all commercial
citrus varieties, and does not genetically modify the tree or its fruit.

"As U.S. Sugar made a strategic realignment to focus on increasing its Florida sugarcane
production, we are confident in transitioning our citrus vector technology to Silvec for
commercialization. We believe this important technology will play a critical role in reducing the
scourge of citrus greening," stated the Director of Research and Special Projects at U.S. Sugar,
Mike Irey.

According to Rick Dantzler, Executive Director of the Citrus Research and Development
Foundation, a partnership between Florida citrus growers and government agencies, "CRDF
sees the citrus vector technology as playing an instrumental role in helping to reduce the
catastrophic effects of citrus greening on Florida citrus production and Silvec has our full
support with its regulatory approval process."

The citrus vector product has been approved by USDA for commercial use in all Florida counties
following a positive Environmental Impact Statement issued by USDA in June 2020. Silvec, along
with its regulatory partner, the IR-4 Project, filed an EPA registration application in January
2024 which commences an 18-month review process. "We are very excited to build on the
pioneering work by U.S. Sugar, the University of Florida, and Texas A&M AgriLife Research over
the past 15 years and look forward to begin commercializing the citrus vector product once all
regulatory approvals are in place" said Silvec CEO, Dr. Rafael Simon.

"After years of research and development, we are pleased to see the citrus vector and spinach
defensin technology advance to the EPA registration phase and get closer to approval. This
endeavor is a perfect example of the public-private sector relationships that are crucial to
creating impact and innovative solutions to complex problems such as citrus greening," said
Kranthi Mandadi, Ph.D., professor of plant pathology and microbiology at Texas A&M AgriLife
Research.
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About Silvec Biologics
Silvec develops RNA platforms for delivering traits into plants without modifying their genomes.
Its products can enhance plant traits as well as protect against pathogens including viruses,
bacteria, fungi, and pests with products developed at a fraction of the cost of other approaches.
With plant pathogens causing hundreds of billions of dollars of annual damage and a strong
demand for non-GM trait enhancement, Silvec's proprietary RNA technology can revolutionize
agriculture similar to how RNA therapies are revolutionizing human medicine.

About US Sugar
U.S. Sugar is a South Florida farming company that sustainably grows sugarcane, citrus, sweet
corn and other winter and spring vegetables. The company was founded in 1931 by Charles
Stewart Mott, a visionary leader who hailed from a long line of farmers. Since the beginning,
the company's success has been rooted in traditional farming values and respect for the land.
For more information, please visit www.ussugar.com.

About Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Texas A&M AgriLife Research pioneers knowledge about agriculture, natural resources, and the
life sciences to nourish health, strengthen communities, and support economies. A member of
The Texas A&M University System, AgriLife Research advances the land-grant mission of
research, teaching, and extension. https://AgriLiferesearch.tamu.edu/

About University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' (UF/IFAS) mission is to
discover and develop knowledge, encourage innovative study, and create applications to
address challenges facing agriculture, natural resources, and human systems and to make that
knowledge accessible to improve the quality of human life. http://ifas.ufl.edu

About the IR-4 Project
The IR-4 Project was established in 1963 by the USDA and land-grant universities to ensure that
specialty crop farmers have legal access to safe and effective crop protection products.

About The Citrus Research and Development Fund
The CRDF was established in 2009 to lead the effort of Florida's citrus growers in funding
research to combat citrus greening.
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Additional information is available at Silvec Biologic's web site www.silvec.com. The above
release was issued today. For more information contact: Rafael Simon at rsimon@silvec.com