Approval of 3AEY in Italy

RNS Number : 7219O

Eden Research plc

11 February 2016

 

Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Approval of 3AEY in Italy 

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-listed company that provides breakthrough natural microencapsulation technologies to the global agrochemicals, animal health and consumer products industries, announces that is has now received authorisation in Italy for its first product, 3AEY, for use in the prevention and treatment of botrytis in table and wine grapes. 3AEY will be sold in Italy by Eden partner Sipcam S.p.A. under the brand name "3LOGY™" following the issuance of the registration number by the Italian authorities.

This is a significant and long-awaited milestone for the Company and will allow Sipcam to sell 3LOGY to its established customers. 3LOGY is a terpene-based fungicide that can treat and prevent botrytis. Botrytis is a widespread fungal disease that causes grey mould on many fruits and vegetables leading to the rapid loss of commercially valuable crops. The average losses from affected crops account for around 20% of the total harvest, costing producers between €10-100 billion annually worldwide, depending upon weather conditions. The market for Botryticides alone is approximately $300m per annum.

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, said: "Italy has recently become the largest wine producing country in the world, and so to have 3LOGY registered and available for sale in this important market is clearly very good news for Eden, our partners and the grape growers in Italy. Since we signed the licence agreement with Sipcam in November 2014, there has been a lot of work by both parties to ensure that we could meet the 2016 growing season and to demonstrate the benefits of 3LOGY to growers and distributors.

"Following marketing trials undertaken in 2015, 3LOGY has been very well received by customers throughout the EU southern zone. The unique characteristics that 3LOGY has in terms of its safety and environmental profile, good efficacy and exemption from Maximum Residue Limits make it an interesting and useful product for growers to use. This is particularly relevant in the late stages of the growing season when botrytis can be prevalent and where many alternative products are not able to be used due to residue issues, leaving growers with few options in the last few weeks before harvest due to the long pre-harvest intervals associated with many competing fungicides."

Eden Research plc	www.edenresearch.com
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Alex Abrey, Chief Financial Officer
Shore Capital and Corporate Limited	www.shorecap.com
Stephane Auton/Patrick Castle	Tel: [phone]
Walbrook PR Ltd	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus	Mob: [phone]
Lianne Cawthorne	Mob: [phone]

Notes:

Eden is an early stage revenue company with intellectual property and expertise in encapsulation, terpenes and environmentally friendly technologies to provide naturally occurring solutions to the global agrochemicals industry, the animal health industry, and consumer products.

Eden's encapsulation technology harnesses the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic hydrophobic compounds. The technology uses yeast cells that are a by-product of numerous commercial production processes to deliver a slow release of natural compounds for agricultural and non-agricultural uses. Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor solubility. Eden's platform encapsulation technology provides a unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk agrochemicals.

With leading consultants in their respective fields, the Company is developing these technologies through innovative research and a series of commercial production, marketing and distribution partnerships.

The Company has a number of patents and a pipeline of products at differing stages of development targeting specific areas of the global agrochemicals industry. To date, the Company has invested in the region of £12m in developing and protecting its intellectual property and seeking regulatory approval for products that rely upon the Company's technologies. Revenues earned by the Company have been modest whilst the Company has concentrated on securing patent protection for its intellectual property, gaining regulatory approvals, identifying suitable industrial partners, and entering into licence agreements. 

In May of 2013, the three actives that comprise Eden's first commercial product, 3AEY, were approved as new ingredients for use in plant protection products.  This represents a major milestone in the commercialisation of Eden's technology and is a significant accomplishment for any company.  To illustrate this point, one should note that in all of 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.

3AEY has already been authorised for sale in Kenya, Malta, Greece and Bulgaria.

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN.

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com

 

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