Seed Supremacy
10 December 2008 Reseach and development (R&D) efforts are the lifeblood of the Big 6 multinationals. BASF, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto, and Syngenta are all heavily invested in the discovery of new agrochemical and seed products, and while new product introductions are currently below the 25-year average of 12 introductions per year, the percentages of these companies’ sales that are devoted to R&D remain at high levels.
The slowdown in new products has a number of causes, including the high regulatory costs associated with new chemistries and the profitability of the industry as a whole, which from the first reports of 2006 is down for all major players.
However, the biggest influence on R&D is the shift from conventional agrochemicals to seed and trait technologies. From 2000 to 2004, expenditures on conventional chemicals have remained around US $2 billion, floating from a low of US $1.95 billion in 2002 to a high of US $2.28 billion in 2004. During the same period, R&D resources spent on seed and trait technology climbed each year, from US $1.08 billion in 2000 to US $1.41 billion in 2004, according to Phillips McDougall AgriService.
Each of the Big 6 companies now has a portion of its R&D activities devoted to biotechnology and seed, with Monsanto and DuPont leading the way. For conventional chemicals, Bayer remains the most active R&D company, followed by Syngenta, BASF, and Dow.
In The Pipelines
Even with the number of new product releases dropping, some promising science is in the works for the Big 6.
The R&D pipeline for BASF goes against the grain of the discovery slowdown. At an event held earlier this year, Mike Heinz, president of agricultural products for the company, noted that in 2003, BASF committed 7.5% of its sales to R&D, and in 2007, that number will reach 9% to 10%. Of that investment, 21% is going to be spent on herbicides, a segment which other companies are scaling back due to the ubiquity of glyphosate. Fungicides will occupy 33% of expenditures, and insecticides will make up 39%.
Products in the early launch phase for BASF include four fungicides for cereals, soybeans, specialty crops, and non-crops; three herbicides for cereals and maize; and one non-crop insecticide. In earlier stages of development, the company has two fungicides for cereals, rice, specialty crops, and non-crop uses; two herbicides for maize and non-crop uses; one herbicide tolerance trait for soybeans; and two insecticides for specialty crops and non-crop uses. Specific examples of BASF products include the low-toxicity metaflumizone, a specialty crop insecticide to hit global markets between this year and 2007, and a broad-spectrum fungicide with a new mode of action that is set to launch in 2009 or 2010, which the company believes could be a blockbuster.
The company also has the plant growth regulator Pentia for cotton based on mepiquat pentaborate, which outperformed mepiquat chloride in field tests; Prowl H2O, a water-based formulation of pendimethalin that is gaining approvals for tree nuts, citrus, and other crops; and Alverde, a high-efficacy insecticide for major pests in potatoes, vegetables, and other crops. The company anticipates a 2007 launch of Alverde, which helps to manage resistant pests, but does not harm beneficial insects and pollinators.
The top agrochemical R&D investor, Bayer CropScience, also has a number of new products either recently introduced or on the horizon. Its new chemical class triazolinthiones has “set a new paradigm for resistance management,” according to the company. One triazolinthione product, prothioconazole, is already proving its merit, and the company expects several more products of different classes to be on the market soon. Four fungicides, four herbicides, and two insecticides set to be launched by Bayer in the near future.
Among the products in the company’s pipeline are the insecticide flubendiamide for Lepidoptera control and spirotetramat, which will be the third ketoenol product; the fungicides fluopicolide for potatoes, vine crops, and vegetables and BYF 1047, a resistance inducer against rice blast, as well as two other fungicides; and the herbicides pyrasulfotole for cereals, two new maize herbicides, and one safener.
Bayer’s acknowledgement of the importance of resistance management is evident in the launch of several products. Fluopicolide is a new fungicide for oomycetes in a new chemical class (acylpicolides). It has a novel mode of action and is launching between this year and 2007 in different markets. Flubendiamide is a new lipid insecticide developed through a joint project with Nihon Nohyaku with a new mode of action. It also is safe to beneficials, and is expected to be launched in 2007. Spirotetramat, the third ketoenol, has a new mode of action as an insect lipid biosynthesis inhibitor. Pyrasulfotole, a cereal herbicide, also has a new mode of action.
New releases for Dow Agrosciences include its aminopyralid range of products, which are notable for their environmental characteristics and efficacy against non-native, noxious, and invasive species and broadleaf weeds. The company also had notable launches on the seed side of the business, with Herculex RW Rootworm Protection and Herculex XTRA Insect Protection, which combines Herculex RW and Herculex I for broad protection against worms and insect pests. Another trait-based launch, WideStrike Insect Protection, offers a stack of two Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) traits for season-long worm control.
The biggest news for DuPont Crop Protection is the release of maize and soybean seed that is resistant to both glyphosate and sulfonyurea herbicides. The new anthranilic diamide insecticide from the company controls key specialty crop pests such as the Colorado potato beetle in potatoes, the diamond black moth in crucifers, and coddling moth in apples, and is environmentally soft, since it acts upon the same receptor as the naturally occurring insecticide ryanodine. Proquinazid is a new fungicide for mildews in specialty crops and grapes, and Velpar K4, a broadspectrum herbicide for sugar cane, also is finding a following.
Monsanto’s pipeline teems with new seed and trait introductions. In the late pre-launch stage of development, the company has Roundup Ready (RR) Flex cotton; 2nd Generation YieldGard Rootworm seed; Mavera high-value maize with lysine; Mavera I High-value soybeans; and improved-protein soybeans. In advanced development, Monsanto has Roundup RReady2Yield soybeans; 2nd Generation YieldGard Corn Borer seed; Vistive II Low Lin – Mid Oleic soybeans; and Omega-3 soybeans. In early development, the company has Roundup RReady2Yield canola; dicamba-tolerant soybeans; a new variety insect-protected soybeans; Bollgard III cotton; drought-tolerant maize; higher-yielding canola and soybeans; Mavera II High-value soybeans; high-oil soybeans for processing; and Vistive III Low Lin – Mid-Oleic – Low Sat soybeans. In the very earliest stages of development, the “Proof of Discovery” phase, Monsanto has dicamba-tolerant cotton; YieldGard Rootworm II; nematode-resistant soybeans; 2nd Generation drought-tolerant maize; drought-tolerant soybeans and cotton; higher-yielding maize; nitrogen utilization maize; 2nd Generation high-value maize with lysine; and maize with balanced proteins.
Finally,Syngenta also has a number of projects in the works. Axial cereal herbicide launched this year in the EU and US for wheat and barley, and Avicta, a new seed treatment to control nematodes, is approved for cotton in the US and is pending registration for use on vegetables. In 2007, the company plans to launch mandipropamide, a new fungicide against late blight in potatoes and tomatoes as well as downy mildew in vine crops and vegetables.
Between now and 2012, projects anticipated to take off include an insecticide with a new mode of action that will be well suited to resistance management; a broadspectrum fungicide and a multi-crop fungicide; a selective herbicide for maize; and a non-selective herbicide.
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