Alachua, Florida
June 8, 2009
Pasteuria Bioscience
announced that it has received registration from the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Pasteuria
usgae. This is a critical step towards the commercial use of
Pasteuria spp., a natural bacteria prevalent in soil that have
long been recognized as promising biological control agents for
plant-parasitic nematodes.
“We’re very pleased to receive this EPA registration,” said
David Duncan, Ph.D., chief executive officer for Pasteuria
Bioscience. “It confirms Pasteuria usgae as a safe, effective
and an environmentally-friendly agent for sting nematode
control."
Pasteuria spp. was first discovered over 50 years ago and
identified as an effective agent for nematode control.
Scientists have considered Pasteuria to be among the most
promising biological agents for control of plant-parasitic
nematodes, but until recently, no one was able to grow Pasteuria
outside of the body of a nematode. Thus, it could not be
produced cost-effectively on a commercial scale. Pasteuria
Bioscience has developed a revolutionary new technology that
allows the rapid and cost-effective growth of multiple strains
of Pasteuria manufactured through traditional fermentation
methods.
The Society of Nematology and other organizations estimate
global crop losses due to nematodes at $100 billion annually
making it agriculture’s largest unmet pest control need. With
current nematicides being voluntarily removed from the market
due to safety and environmental concerns, few nematicide options
exist to meet this demand. The registration of Pasteuria spp. is
important in offering environmentally safe, cost-effective and
reliable nematode control products helping to fill the niches
that will be vacated by current nematicides.
With a robust pipeline of product candidates based on Pasteuria
technology, this registration is the first of many to come. P.
usgae is a highly efficacious biological nematicide and will be
targeted for control of sting nematode in the golf, sports turf
and landscape markets.
“This first step is important for Pasteuria Bioscience and
serves as validation of the credibility of Pasteuria-derived
products. We’re confident about the future of this technology as
an important tool to help growers control nematodes in a variety
of crops and regions of world,” said Duncan.
Pasteuria Bioscience, Inc. was founded in 2003 in the
University of Florida’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator. The
company was developed out of Entomos, Inc., to commercialize its
revolutionary technology for production of nematode control
products based on Pasteuria technology. Pasteuria Bioscience is
developing products based on Pasteuria spp. to treat major
nematode pests in most agricultural crops. Its first product
will provide sting nematode control for the golf and sports turf
markets. Subsequent products will offer nematode control in
agronomic crops such as soybean and cotton, in specialty crops
such as strawberry and banana; and in vegetables. Pasteuria
Bioscience continues to build its pipeline of products and its
intellectual property portfolio through a vigorous development
program. |
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