Biotalys and Novonesis announce manufacturing and commercialisation partnership for EVOCA NG

Press release – inside information

• Biotalys and Novonesis have entered into an agreement to advance EVOCA NG – the next generation of Biotalys’ product candidate EVOCA™* – to the final stage of development.
• Pending success in this final development stage, the agreement secures Novonesis as the global manufacturing partner for EVOCA NG, leveraging its leading fermentation capabilities.
• Biotalys also grants Novonesis the rights to distribute and sell EVOCA NG in select crops outside of the United States, in exchange for royalty payments.
  
  

Ghent, BELGIUM , March 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  – Biotalys (Euronext - BTLS), an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company pioneering protein-based biocontrol solutions for sustainable crop protection, and Novonesis, a global leader in biosolutions, have unveiled a comprehensive, long-term collaboration agreement. This partnership encompasses the production, global supply, and certain commercialization rights of EVOCA NG, slated to be Biotalys’ inaugural margin-generating biofungicide.

Biotalys and Novonesis are completing the manufacturing process development phase for EVOCA NG, which includes an investment by Novonesis to facilitate the scale up in production capacity to support global commercialization. The companies will also be commercial partners in the distribution and sale of EVOCA NG for select crops outside of the United States. Biotalys will receive a royalty on Novonesis’ net sales of EVOCA NG for all covered territories. The agreed royalty percentage is a premium for the sector reflecting the uniqueness of the AGROBODY technology for sustainable crop protection. The efficacy of its new mode of action has been confirmed through multi-year field trials, and through the granting of a separate FRAC**-code for EVOCA.

In addition, the companies will explore future collaborations involving Biotalys’ promising AGROBODY™ technology platform, including potential combinations with Novonesis’ biocontrol technology.

Kim Mueller Christensen, VP of Animal and Plant Biosolutions Marketing and Business Development of Novonesis, said: "We are excited to partner with Biotalys to bring a novel biofungicide to the market with a new active ingredient. With EVOCA NG we will be able to leverage our world leading fermentation capabilities to add value to Biotalys’ very promising AGROBODY technology. We look forward to working together with Biotalys to offer another novel biocontrol solution to our agricultural partners around the world and help shape a safer and more sustainable food production.”

Kevin Helash, Chief Executive Officer of Biotalys, stated: "Novonesis is a well-respected international leader in the field of biosolutions. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with them on producing EVOCA NG, enabling us to introduce the innovative AGROBODY technology to our global customers. This is an important step forward for Biotalys as we lay the foundation for future commercial launches from our AGROBODY 2.0 technology platform.”

EVOCA NG is a biofungicide candidate with the same active ingredient as Biotalys’ first-generation EVOCA, but with an optimized production process and formulation enabling commercialization of the product at competitive levels. EVOCA and EVOCA NG aim to provide fruit and vegetable growers with an efficacious new crop protection product to help control the devastating fungal diseases Botrytis and powdery mildew.

The biocontrol sector is a rapidly expanding segment of the overall crop protection market, projected to surpass $15 billion by 2029. Biofungicides represent a significant share within this growing sector, with total market potential approaching $5 billion by then.***

* EVOCA™: Pending Registration. This product is not currently registered for sale or use in the United States, the European Union, or elsewhere and is not being offered for sale.
** FRAC: Fungicide Resistance Action Committee
*** Source: 2023 DunhamTrimmer Global Biocontrol Market Report

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About Biotalys

Biotalys is an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions for the protection of crops and food and aiming to provide alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides for a more sustainable and safer food supply. Based on its novel AGROBODY™ technology platform, Biotalys is developing a strong and diverse pipeline of effective product candidates with a favorable safety profile that aim to address key crop pests and diseases across the whole value chain, from soil to plate. Biotalys was founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and has been listed on Euronext Brussels since July 2021. The company is based in the biotech cluster in Ghent, Belgium. More information can be found on www.biotalys.com.

About Novonesis

Novonesis is a global company leading the era of biosolutions, resulting from the recent merger between Novozymes and Ch. Hansen. By leveraging the power of microbiology with science, we transform the way the world produces, consumes, and lives. In more than 30 industries, our biosolutions are already creating value for millions of consumers and benefitting the planet. Our 10,000 people worldwide work closely with our partners and customers to transform business with biology. Learn more on www.novonesis.com

For additional information on the transaction, please visit www.power-with-biology.com

For further information, please contact:

Biotalys
Toon Musschoot, Head of IR & Communication
T: +32 (0)9 274 54 00
E: IR@biotalys.com

Novonesis
Kathrine Westermann, Head of Media Relations
M: +45 23815595
E: katwe@novonesis.com

Important Notice

Biotalys, its business, prospects and financial position remain exposed and subject to risks and uncertainties. A description of and reference to these risks and uncertainties can be found in the annual report on the consolidated annual accounts published on the company’s website.

This announcement contains statements which are "forward-looking statements" or could be considered as such. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words ‘aim’, 'believe', 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'expect', 'intend', 'may', 'will', 'plan', 'continue', 'ongoing', 'possible', 'predict', 'plans', 'target', 'seek', 'would' or 'should', and contain statements made by the company regarding the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are warned that none of these forward-looking statements offers any guarantee of future performance. Biotalys’ actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. Biotalys makes no undertaking whatsoever to publish updates or adjustments to these forward-looking statements, unless required to do so by law.

Attachments

• PR Biotalys Novonesis partnership_18 March 2024_EN
• PR Biotalys partnership met Novonesis_18 maart 2024_NL