Bi-PA Invests in Innovate AG’s Novel Bioinsecticide

Posted by Jackie Pucci|7 February 2017

Bi-PA has acquired a 25% shareholding position in Innovate AG, an Australian company that has patented a plant extract to control several pests.

The product has a favorable toxicology and ecotoxicology profile and is providing a new mode of action, Bi-PA says. The deal closed on Jan. 31, 2017.

Bi-PA will develop and register the product outside Australia and New Zealand. Market access is planned through Bi-PA’s shareholders: Belchim for Europe, Amvac for the Americas and Unifert for the Middle-East/North Africa. Both companies look forward to the synergy of both teams and the availability of a natural product for growers.

According to the companies, Innovate AG developed and patented a product based on an extract from the plant Clitoria ternatea (butterfly pea). The insecticidal properties of the butterfly pea were discovered by Australian cotton researcher Dr. Robert Mensah because of the scarcity of insects on this plant. Research to look for active compounds started. Meanwhile, the product of Innovate AG was registered in Australia at APVMA (Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority) as an insecticide to control several pests in cotton and macadamia nuts. It is safe to humans, mammals, beneficial insects and bees with no residues.