United Kingdom
May 20, 2015
Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM listed natural micro-encapsulation company, announces that it has signed a new Evaluation Agreement ("Agreement") with Sipcam Italia Spa and Sipcam Iberia (collectively referred to as "Sipcam" and a Sumitomo-related company) to evaluate two new products targeting additional important crop diseases. In November 2014, Sipcam took an exclusive licence to Eden's first product, 3AEY, for the treatment of botrytis. This product will be launched following the completion of the EU product registration allowing the sale and use of 3AEY on grapes, initially, across the Southern EU zone.
Following the successful work with 3AEY, Sipcam is expanding its evaluations of Eden's technologies by conducting field trials on two new Eden products for the treatment of powdery mildew, which affects flowers and fruit, and apple scab during the course of 2015. These products are also based upon combinations of Eden's EU approved terpenes and its patented micro-encapsulation technology, GO-E™. It is anticipated that Sipcam will expand its evaluations in 2016 and potentially begin the product registration process under a new licence from Eden should the trials prove to be conclusive during the course of 2015.
Financial terms of the Agreement are subject to confidentiality and have not been disclosed.
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, said: "We are pleased with the increase in activities with our partner, Sipcam. This is clear evidence that we are realising the potential to expand the commercialisation of our products and grow the existing relationship with Sumitomo related companies around the world.
Powdery mildew and apple scab are both major diseases affecting high value crops, and we are eager to further demonstrate that we are able to leverage our technology platforms to provide natural solutions to important problems facing growers today. Furthermore, with the expansion of our set of products to tackle an ever-wider range of plant diseases, we are looking to provide the industry with new solutions in an environment in which regulation has typically limited the disease control options available today. We have long believed that our products are an essential component in effective integrated pest management, and we are pleased that our partners are continuing to find this to be the case."
Giovanni Affaba, Managing Director of SIPCAM, said: "We are delighted with this new agreement representing further investment in building up a well-integrated portfolio of agrochemicals and natural products, able to highlight the well-known technical skills of our company to offer solutions to farmers able to satisfy their needs."
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.
Sipcam Italia SpA and Sipcam Iberia belong to Sipcam-Oxon group that is involved in the synthesis, formulation and commercialization of active ingredients and chemical intermediates. The group has also developed the production and marketing of innovative fertilizers and, more recently, processing and sales of seeds. The company operates (since 1946) with its technical and sales organization in 12 Countries. The offer includes a range of agrochemicals mainly originated by several Japanese partners and by Oxon, but also a patented range of micro-granulated starter fertilizers.
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