AgBiome has developed and commercialized its biological agricultural products by striking up alliances with larger companies in the industry. Now the company has two more partnerships, one that will bring its flagship fungicide to new global markets and another pact aiming to develop new products supporting soil health.
The fungicide partnership, with the agricultural solutions division of BASF, covers the biological fungicide that Research Triangle Park-based AgBiome markets in the U.S. under the name Howler. BASF will handle the development, registration, and commercialization of that fungicide in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. If the product is successfully registered with regulatory authorities, the companies expect it could enter the market in select countries in those regions in 2024 or 2025.
Howler is AgBiome’s first fungicide, and it’s currently registered in every U.S. state except Hawaii. AgBiome developed Howler with its Genesis technology, which screens collections of microbes to find the ones best suited for agricultural applications. Howler is based on a strain of the bacterium Pseudomonas chloroaphis and the fungicide employs multiple modes of action against a broad spectrum of diseases that spread through the soil and plant leaves.
“We believe that the complementary combination of conventional crop protection and bio solutions is the way forward for sustainable agriculture and we are convinced that strong partnerships in the industry are essential to bring more innovations to the market,” he said in a prepared statement.
Mosaic company
The BASF alliance follows the late March announcement that AgBiome will work with The Mosaic Company, a Fortune 500 company that generated nearly $8.7 billion in total global sales last year. Tampa, Florida-based Mosaic is a producer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. The company has signed on AgBiome to help it discover, develop, and launch new biological products that make soil more fertile.
AgBiome brings to the alliance its Genesis technology. Mosaic is contributing its expertise in soil health and soil product development. In a statement, Kim Nicholson, vice president of ag technology and innovation at Mosaic, said AgBiome is one of several partners that Mosaic is working with to expand the company’s soil health offerings.
For more information:
AgBiome
104 T. W. Alexander Drive,
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
agbiome.com
BASF
www.basf.com
