Eden partners with M H Poskitt

2 November 2020

Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Eden partners with M H Poskitt to develop bio-fungicide targeting late blight

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 it has partnered with M H Poskitt ("Poskitt") to develop and trial a new bio-fungicide product designed to protect and improve the quality of vegetables. M H Poskitt is a family owned farming business based in East Riding, Yorkshire, specialising in the growing and packing of root vegetables for leading supermarkets and is a leading producer of carrots in the UK.  Poskitt's farm currently produces approximately 80,000 tonnes of crops per year serving UK retailers and a range of other customers.

The partnership has been established to support an R&D project that M H Poskitt has been engaged in investigating the effect of mugwort plant extract on key plant diseases. The plant extract has been trialled on potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, and initial results suggest that it could help to combat fungal diseases. One example is potato late blight (Phytophthora infestans), which is a significant disease in both organic and conventionally grown potatoes and if left untreated, can destroy entire crops.

Over the coming two years, Eden, which has expertise in plant-derived sustainable chemistry and developing and registering biopesticide products, will be conducting wider testing with the aim of developing a commercially viable product. The collaboration is currently in the early stages of development and does not have a significant impact on management's expectations for the performance of the business for the time being.  This unique project could eventually provide farmers with a naturally-derived product to help protect against late blight, which costs farmers an estimated £55m each year in the UK alone.

Options for chemical control of late blight are very limited. Recently, the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed voted not to renew a key active ingredient that is commonly used to combat late blight. The ban will come into force over the next 12 months, and as a consequence, farmers have even fewer good choices for the effective control of diseases.  This further highlights the urgent need for sustainable crop protection alternatives.  Both Eden and Poskitt are aligned in their belief that the UK agriculture sector requires more sustainable, alternative crop protection products.

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden Research, commented: "Our partnership with innovative grower Poskitt is an excellent example of collaboration in UK agriculture. Eden and Poskitt share the mutual goal of advancing sustainable alternatives for crop protection in the UK and further afield. When we first heard about Poskitt's discovery and the initial R&D, we were keen to get involved due to our experience in developing plant-derived chemistry into effective products. Poskitt's initial observations and field evaluation work are an excellent example of how innovative Britain's farming sector is, and we look forward to working with Poskitt on this project and achieving positive outcomes for the future of UK crop protection."

Guy Poskitt, Managing Director of M H Poskitt, commented: "We are delighted to be working with Eden to advance the R&D project in collaboration with another British company championing sustainable agriculture as the goal posts get higher for quality, residue-free produce in supermarkets. Following successful results in our initial field trials, we are excited about potentially finding an alternative treatment to phytophthora, which remains one of the biggest challenges faced by root vegetable farmers."  

"This is an RNS Reach announcement and this collaboration is early stage and does not have significant impact on management's current expectations of performance. RNS Reach is an investor communication service aimed at assisting listed and unlisted (including AIM quoted) companies to distribute non-regulatory news releases into the public domain. Information required to be notified under the AIM Rules for Companies, Market Abuse Regulation or other regulation would be disseminated as an RNS regulatory announcement and not on RNS Reach."

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About M H Poskitt

MH Poskitt is a family owned farming business based in the East Riding of Yorkshire specializing in the growing of root vegetables for leading supermarkets. MH Poskitt has been producing carrots for over forty years in Yorkshire and has built a reputation as the leading supplier in the White Rose County.

MH Poskitt's constant strive for perfection has grown our customer base and has developed and strengthened our position as one of the leading producers in the country.

About Eden Research

Eden Research is an AIM quoted company that develops and supplies breakthrough biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries

Eden's Sustaine® encapsulation technology harnesses the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can 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 extract. They produce stabilised aqueous suspensions which, are easy to mix and apply, have phased release patterns, are safer for the environment and the crops themselves.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed an EU-wide restriction on the placing on the market or use of "intentionally-added" microplastic particles. The proposed restriction includes the use of microplastics for agricultural and horticultural purposes, including polymers utilized for controlled-release fertilizers, encapsulated plant protection products (PPPs), seed coatings, and biocides.

By 2025 in the EU, pesticides containing synthetic polymer microplastics are likely to be banned and removed from the market. The only acceptable alternative is the substitution with biodegradable formulations. Reformulated products will need to be evaluated and registered within the five-year transition period.

Sustaine is one of the only viable, proven and immediately registerable solutions to the microplastics problem in formulations requiring encapsulation.

Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor solubility. Sustaine provides a unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk agrochemicals.

Eden 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 14m 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 commercial agreements. 

In May 2013, the three actives that comprise Eden's first commercial product, Mevalone, were approved as new ingredients for use in plant protection products by the European Commission ("EC"). This represented 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 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.

Mevalone® 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 was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN.