Redag Crop Protection – the agrochemical arm of Liverpool-based biotech business Redx Pharma – has demerged from its parent company after securing a seven-figure investment.
The new company will operate from laboratories in Alderley Park, Cheshire and will create 20 scientific research posts in its first three years of operation.
The demerger has been facilitated by a substantial fundraising package arranged by Manchester-based corporate finance boutique Acceleris Capital. The North West Fund for Venture Capital, which is managed by Enterprise Ventures, has invested alongside existing Redx shareholders and new private investors.
Redag was established two years ago as a subsidiary of Redx under the leadership of Bill Thompson, who now becomes CEO of the newly demerged business. Redag will focus on developing products for the global agrochemical market, which is worth some £50 billion a year, in particular new fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and nematicides - products which play a vital role in controlling the pests and diseases that threaten our global food supply.