Collaboration will broaden genetic diversity of Fitó’s breeding lines
Barcelona-based Fitó has entered a long-term partnership with Hudson River Biotechnology, a technology firm specialising in plant genome editing, to generate new genetic diversity directly within Fitó’s own breeding lines.
Work will initially focus on tomatoes, with R&D teams from both companies jointly prioritising traits such as disease and pest resistance, alongside consumer-focused characteristics like shelf-life and nutritional value.
The collaboration combines Fitó’s proprietary germplasm, breeding expertise, and market knowledge with Hudson River Biotechnology’s BioMaas platform, trait expertise, and portfolio. Both companies will work together to address key challenges in plant breeding, such as changing growing conditions, evolving diseases, pest pressure, the shift toward reduced agrochemical use, and evolving consumer expectations.
“Successful plant breeding begins with understanding the needs of farmers, the value chain, and consumers, and finding the best way to translate those needs into new varieties. This collaboration allows us to expand the possibilities of breeding and bring successful varieties to market more quickly,” said Laia Fitó, chief R&D officer at Fitó.
Ferdinand Los, CEO of Hudson River Biotechnology, commented: “Our ambition is to work as an extension of Fitó’s R&D efforts – combining our capabilities, learning together, and focusing on what is needed to transform promising ideas into useful material for breeding programmes. This is the foundation upon which we want to build this long-term collaboration”.
Under this alliance, both companies will work together to set priorities, select opportunities related to new traits, make development decisions, and adapt projects as results and new insights emerge.
Hudson River Biotechnology will act as a development and knowledge partner for Fitó’s R&D teams, leveraging the capabilities of its BioMaas platform – which combines genome editing, plant regeneration, and over a decade of trait development experience – to create new value in crops.
“By combining BioMaas with our knowledge and portfolio of traits, and integrating them with Fitó’s genetics and plant breeding expertise, we can work collaboratively – from biological insight to the delivery of materials that add real value to a breeding programme,” said Lotte Westerhof, CSO of Hudson River Biotechnology.
The collaboration will also enable both companies to prepare for the new regulatory framework established by the European Union regarding New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) – scheduled to come into force in 2028 – ensuring they possess the necessary capabilities to respond to evolving market conditions.
