Further progress in EU product approval

RNS Number : 8383B

Eden Research plc

10 March 2014

 



Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Further progress in EU product approval

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM listed natural micro-encapsulation company, announces that it has received confirmation of the Completeness-Check for dossiers submitted to its Zonal Rapporteur Member State, in relation to gaining product approval for plant protection products using the Company's three EU approved active substances.

In May 2013 Eden received approval from the European Commission for the use of the three active substances in its lead agrichemical product 3AEY. 3AEY is an effective, naturally derived product against Botrytis, a widespread fungal disease that causes grey mould on most fruits and vegetables often leading to the rapid loss of commercially viable crops. The average losses from affected crops account for around 20% of the total harvest, costing in the region of 10-100 billion euros worldwide. The market size for Botryticides is around $300m per annum.

The May approval was a key regulatory milestone and allowed the Company to seek separate national approvals for individual products as a precursor to commercial sales. As part of this process Eden had submitted dossiers to its Zonal Rapporteur Member State, in this case Malta, and has now received confirmation that these dossiers are considered complete.

A Rapporteur Member State is an individual Member State of the EU with responsibility for the evaluation of application dossiers on behalf of the European Commission. This process allows products to gain regulatory approval across various Member States through submission to one Member State. Eden's submission, when successful, is expected to gain approval in France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria.

Clive Newitt, Managing Director of Eden comments: "This is the next important step towards the commercial launch of our first plant protection product across Europe. It follows last year's EU approval of our three active substances - resulting from many years of investment in time, money and effort by Eden. We have already capitalised on the inherent value of our successful submission by signing licencing and royalty agreements with third parties who are looking to register their own products using one or more of the same active substances. Further discussions with interested parties are taking place.

"The main goal is to gain product approval across the EU and we are delighted that we have received confirmation that our submission is complete. We look forward to updating shareholders on the progress of our submission which we are confident will deliver revenue generating sales across Europe for our unique agrochemical technology."

Eden Research plc	www.edenresearch.com
Clive Newitt, Managing Director	Tel: [phone]
Alex Abrey, Chief Financial Officer
W H Ireland Limited	Tel: [phone]
John Wakefield
Walbrook PR Ltd	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus	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 hydrophobic compounds both natural and synthetic. The technology uses yeast cells 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 has 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. Revenues earned by the Company have been modest whilst the Company has concentrated on securing patent protection for its intellectual property, identifying suitable industrial partners and entering into licence agreements.

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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