Calgene Unit to Market Biotech Produce

Calgene, a Davis, Calif., agricultural biotechnology company, said Wednesday that it is forming a new, wholly owned subsidiary that will grow, pack, distribute and sell fresh produce to retail and food service markets.

The new company, Calgene Fresh, expects a decision this year from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that would allow it to begin selling Calgene’s genetically engineered Flavr Savr tomato next year.

The formation of Calgene Fresh presages the transition from a research company to a mature company selling its own products. Its other three operating subsidiaries include two that sell seeds--but those firms were acquired by Calgene and are expected to serve as distribution arms for future genetically engineered products.

Roger Salquist, Calgene’s chairman and chief executive, said Wednesday the company believed that by forming its own produce marketing business it would be “optimizing the advantages” of its new product, which has been genetically engineered for better taste and longer shelf life.

“Good science is nice, but selling tomato seeds is not where to make money--it’s in selling the end product,” he said. “We’d be nuts to sell the seeds and let some guy sell the tomatoes at his local farmer’s market.”

Thomas L. Churchwell, a Calgene director and vice president of a venture capital firm, has been chosen chief executive of CalgeneFresh. The appointment signals the company’s plans to market the Flavr Savr tomato as a brand name.