Eden Research signed agreement with Certis Europe for nematicide

Eden Research plc, a leading UK agrochemical development company, announced that it has signed an exclusive option agreement for its nematicide product and technology with Certis Europe  BV  ("Certis")  based  in Maarssen, Netherlands. The agreement gives Certis a period of twelve months exclusivity within which it will conduct various investigations on the performance and economics of the product and technology following which it can exercise its option and enter into an exclusive licence agreement for the use of Edens nematicide product in major markets in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania.

The agreement provides for Certis to pay an upfront fee of $100,000 followed by a license fee on exercise of the option of $900,000, plus an annual royalty payment once sales have begun.

Edens nematicide product is based upon two of the terpenes contained in its 3-AEY Botrytis product that is already well advanced in its EU registration process. Terpenes are natural compounds which function as defence mechanisms in many plant groups and are released in response to infection, attack by pests (in this case soil-inhabiting nematodes), stress or mechanical injury. Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Certis Europe BV is a well established crop protection business with direct operations in key European markets which combines proprietary products with those from a range of supplier partners in a wide-ranging portfolio.
Certis majority shareholder is Mitsui Agriscience, part of Mitsui & Co., a $57 billion global trading company with diverse business interests in over 90 countries. Mitsuis global sales in the agriscience sector are in excess of $486 million per annum and the company markets  a  wide  variety  of  pesticides  and biopesticides,  as  well  as  biological pest control products and services through  its  European,  African, Japanese and US subsidiaries.

Clive Newitt, Managing Director of Eden Research, said:

"This is a significant step forward for Eden as the worldwide nematicide and soil fumigant market is around $1 billion per annum and, therefore, provides us with the potential for significant future revenues. Our nematicide is the next significant product in our portfolio to be commercialised and this agreement is a very good start in licensing the product on a worldwide basis. It leaves us only the North American and South American regions to be out-licensed in the future. The worldwide nematode market is currently crying out for new products with advantageous safety profiles, such as ours, to replace those products which are  being or have already been banned or restricted in use."

Kevin Price, corporate marketing manager of Certis Europe, said:

"Certis Europe is continuously working on further strengthening of our CleanStart offer to the market. CleanStart comprises a range of various soil treatment products and solutions for prevention and control of pests and diseases. We are continuously looking for effective, safe and innovative solutions with a good safety profile for man and environment that can complement our current product range that includes the soil disinfectants Basamid and DD. This terpenes based technology for nematode control is looking very promising to meet those requirements and we are happy to be able to review it more in detail during the coming year".