US EPA approves expanded label for Mevalone

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS (EU) NO. 596/2014 WHICH FORMS PART OF UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Eden Research plc

(“Eden” or “Company)

US EPA approves expanded label for Mevalone

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-quoted company focused on sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free formulation technology for global agriculture, announces that the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has approved an expanded label for Mevalone®, the Company's terpene-based biofungicide, significantly broadening the approved uses of the product in the US.

• Increased range of approved uses of Mevalone in the US
• Label now covers food and non-food crops
• Additional target diseases and both open-field and greenhouse applications included
• State-level registration process has commenced for the additional crops
• Total addressable market is estimated to be in excess of $50m

In addition to the existing approval of grapes (table, wine and raisin) for grey mould and powdery mildew, the label now also covers a broad range of additional high-value food and non-food crops, including almonds, berries, brassicas, cucurbits, fruiting vegetables, leafy vegetables, herbs and spices, strawberries, hops, kiwi, figs, pomegranate, fava beans, fennel and tobacco. Target diseases include grey mould (Botrytis), powdery mildew, Sclerotinia, brown rot blossom blight and chocolate spot. Several crop groups are approved for both open-field and greenhouse use.

This approval highlights the continued expansion of Eden’s products across a broad range of high-value crops, as growing demand for sustainable crop-protection solutions strengthens the long-term addressable market for Mevalone and the Company’s wider portfolio. The additional crops will now undergo the state-level review and registration process which is expected to take between one and twelve months, depending upon the state.

Mevalone contains three naturally derived active ingredients (eugenol, geraniol and thymol) and is classified by the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) as a Group BM01 fungicide, being a plant extract biological with multimode of action. This means that it is suitable for use as part of integrated pest management and fungicide resistance management programmes. Mevalone is sold in the United States by Eden's commercial partner, Sipcam Agro USA, Inc.

Brent Marek, Chief Executive Officer of Sipcam Agro USA, commented: “Sipcam is excited about our partnership with Eden and the recent label expansion of Mevalone to include numerous new crops, including strawberries and cane fruit. As the exclusive US seller of Mevalone, Sipcam is proud to bring this important disease-management tool to growers for use in protecting these important crops. This expansion represents another significant step forward for Mevalone and reinforces Sipcam’s and Eden’s commitment to providing innovative solutions that deliver value to growers and our industry”.

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, commented: "This label expansion is an important milestone for Mevalone in the United States, the world's largest single market for crop protection. Growers of a much wider range of high-value fruit, vegetable and speciality crops can now use Mevalone, and we look forward to working with Sipcam Agro USA to build on this broader label in the coming seasons."

For further information contact:

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 three products currently on the market:

Based on plant-derived active ingredients, Mevalone® is a foliar biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting grapes and other high-value fruit and vegetable crops.  It is a useful tool in crop defence programmes and is aligned with the requirements of integrated pest management programmes. 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 seed treatment product (approval expected in 2026), Ecovelex was developed to safely tackle crop destruction caused by birds - a major cause of losses in maize and other crops. Ecovelex works by creating an unpleasant taste or odour that repels birds, leaving the seeds safely intact and the birds unaffected and free to find alternative food sources. The product is based on Eden's plant-derived chemistry, registered in the EU, US and elsewhere, and formulated using Eden's Sustaine® microencapsulation system.

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.

Follow Eden on LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.