Licence Agreement with SUMIAGRO

RNS Number : 3789Y

Eden Research plc

01 December 2014

 



Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Exclusive Licence Agreement with SUMIAGRO France SAS for grape protection products

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM listed natural micro-encapsulation company, announces that it has signed an exclusive Licence Agreement with Sumi Agro France SAS ("Sumi Agro") to sell 3AEY, an Eden-developed plant protection product in France. In addition, Sumi Agro will have the right to trial, register, develop and sell certain other plant protection products for use in France using Eden's natural encapsulation technology, GO-E Inside™.

The Licence Agreement, which lasts for 20 years, covers the use of 3AEY in a number of agricultural applications and the initial targeted use will be on grapes for control of Botrytis, a fungus that affects many plants and is a major concern across Europe.

This follows the news announced on 21 November 2014 that Eden signed an exclusive Licence Agreement with Sipcam Italia Spa and Sipcam Iberia to sell 3AEY in Italy and Spain, respectively. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Eden will receive an upfront payment followed by a number of milestone payments relating to the approval of the product by the EU, which is expected in spring 2015, and sales targets.  Eden will also receive ongoing royalty payments based on product sales. 

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, said: "France is a well-known grape growing country where the market for Botryticides is, historically, the largest in the world. Ensuring that we have the right partner which is able to fully exploit the opportunities for effective products such as 3AEY in this market is, therefore, critical. We strongly believe that SUMIAGRO France is that partner and expect that Eden will benefit greatly from the weight that their name and expertise carries in France.

Beyond this agreement and 3AEY, we look forward to developing other product opportunities with Sumi Agro France as well as with affiliated Sumitomo Corporation companies. "

Antoine Meyer, President of Sumi Agro, said: "We fully recognize that, with 3AEY, Eden's technology is clearly an innovative BioControl answer to vineyard growers looking to satisfy their workers' concerns and consumers' demand:  3AEY botryticide provides distributors and growers with a new tool adapted to modern and increasingly sustainable farming.

This agreement expresses our Sumi Agro commitment to invest in modern crop protection solutions based on conventional as well as BioControl tools."

Eden Research plc	www.edenresearch.com
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Alex Abrey, Chief Financial Officer
W H Ireland Limited	Tel: [phone]
John Wakefield / Ed Allsopp
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.

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 

Sumi Agro France is a European affiliated company of the Japanese SUMITOMO CORPORATION group, one of the largest trading house in the World.  In 2012, Sumi Agro and Sipcam signed an alliance, creating a common platform for the development, marketing and distribution of products for Agriculture, covering all European markets.

Thanks to its closed relationship with numerous corporations, not only in Asia, but everywhere in the World, Sumi Agro has a continuous access to new active ingredients and technologies.

Sumi Agro built solutions for an efficient crop protection, economically relevant and consistent with a Sustainable Agriculture, respecting the Environment and able to supply quality food for all.

Sumi Agro is a member of ECPA / UIPP and IBMA associations.

For more information about SUMI AGRO, please visit www.sumiagro.fr - www.sumiagro.com

 

END

 

 

AGRPGGMWGUPCGQR