26 August 2021

Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

New label extension for biofungicide in Portugal

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-quoted company focused on sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free formulation technology for use in global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries, announces that its biofungicide, Mevalone^®, has received authorisation for use on new crops in Portugal (where it is marketed as Araw^®) for the control of the disease Botrytis cinerea, a destructive fungal pathogen affecting many plant species.

This latest label extension adds strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, kiwi, aubergines and peppers to the label, with product applications being permitted close to the point of harvest. The use of Araw affords growers maximum flexibility in their crop protection programmes as it is free from residues and provides growers the important benefit of avoiding product rejections by wholesalers and food retailers that can result from higher-than-allowed pesticide residue levels.

Eden's biofungicide product, which is known as "Mevalone" in much of Europe, is sold exclusively in Spain and Portugal by Eden's commercial partner, Sipcam Iberia and Portugal ("Sipcam"), under the brand name "Araw". Based on natural active ingredients, Araw is a useful tool in crop defence progammes and is aligned with the demanding requirements of integrated pest management programmes.  The Atlantic Ocean heavily influences the climate in Portugal, making large areas mild and moist for much of the year, which is beneficial for crops but also favours the development of fungal pathogens. Therefore, the broader availability of a biofungicide such as Araw provides an innovative and valuable product for growers.

Sipcam has extensive experience with Araw and has recently supported significant label extensions in Spain. This approval in Portugal will enable Sipcam to expand the market for Araw across thousands of hectares of new high value crops. Portugal is in the top ten kiwi producers in the world and over 14,000 tonnes of strawberries are exported from Portugal on an annual basis.

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Notes to Editors:

Eden Research is the only UK-listed company focused on biopesticides for sustainable agriculture. It develops and supplies innovative biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries. 

Eden's products are formulated with terpene active ingredients, based on natural plant defence metabolites. To date, they have been primarily used on high-value fruits and vegetables, improving crop yields and marketability, with equal or better performance when compared with conventional pesticides. Eden has two products currently on the market: 

Mevalone^® / Araw^® is a foliar biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting grapes and other high-value fruit and vegetable crops.  It is approved for sale in a number of key countries whilst Eden and its partners pursue regulatory clearance in new territories thereby growing Eden's addressable market globally.

Cedroz^™ is a bionematicide that targets free living nematodes which are parasitic worms that affect a wide range of high-value fruit and vegetable crops globally.  Cedroz is registered for sale on two continents and Eden's commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical, is pursuing registration and commercialisation of this important new product in numerous countries globally.

Eden's Sustaine^® encapsulation technology is used to harness the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic compounds to enhance their performance and ease-of-use. Sustaine microcapsules are naturally-derived, plastic-free, biodegradable micro-spheres derived from yeast. It is one of the only viable, proven and immediately registerable solutions to the microplastics problem in formulations requiring encapsulation.

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN. It was awarded the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark in January 2021, which recognises London-listed companies that derive over 50% of their total annual revenue from products and services that contribute to the global green economy. Eden derives 100% of its total annual revenues from sustainable products and services. 

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com.