Eden Research Plc
("Eden" or "Company")
EU Product Authorisation
Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM listed natural micro-encapsulation company, announces that it has received authorisation of its first product, 3AEY, for use in the prevention and treatment of botrytis (commonly known as bunch rot in viticulture) in table and wine grapes from the Regulatory Affairs Directorate in Malta. Malta is acting as the zonal rapporteur Member State for the Southern EU agricultural zone.
Following this authorisation, it is expected that the remaining member states across the Southern Zone will grant authorisation for the sale and use of 3AEY within their jurisdictions within the allocated 120 day process, and many of these member states are already active in reviewing applications for authorisation of 3AEY.
This product authorisation follows on from the approval received May 2013 for the active substances used in 3AEY.
Botrytis is a widespread fungal disease that causes grey mould on most fruits and vegetables often leading to the rapid loss of commercially viable crops. The average losses from affected crops account for around 20% of the total harvest, costing in the region of 10-100 billion euros worldwide. The market size for Botryticides is around $300m per annum.
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, said: "As our licensees, partners and shareholders well know, we have been pursuing the authorisation to sell 3AEY in the EU Southern Zone for nearly eight years. This is not only excellent news for our licensees, but also for Eden. Our current and pending commercial agreements provide for milestone payments to Eden following national registrations, and now the timescales for these are far more clearly defined. More importantly, our partners are now in a position to advance their commercialisation activities resulting in product sales and, ultimately, running royalty payments to Eden.
"We are delighted with this news and its implications for our licensees and for the market as a whole. Eden's product, 3AEY, is now able to fulfil its potential in contributing to the treatment and prevention of botrytis. As we have communicated before, botrytis is a damaging and costly plant pathogen that affects many high-value crops. We now anticipate that our licensees will pursue label extensions that allow the use of 3AEY in an ever-widening variety of crops.
"Eden is now expanding its product portfolio to target other important plant pathogens working with existing and new licensees. Some of these evaluations have been announced recently, and we expect the realisation of our plant protection product pipeline to continue for several years."
Eden Research plc |
www.edenresearch.com |
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer |
Tel: 01285 359 555 |
Alex Abrey, Chief Financial Officer |
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W H Ireland Limited |
Tel: 0117 945 3471 |
John Wakefield / Ed Allsopp |
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Walbrook PR Ltd |
Tel: 020 7933 8780 or [email protected] |
Paul McManus / Lianne Cawthorne |
Mob: 07980 541 893 / 07584 391 303 |
Notes:
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.
For more information about Eden, please visit www.edenresearch.com
