2015 Annual Review-Biopesticides Registered in 2015 and Analysis of Its Future Prospects

With the new continued development of organic farm product in international market and the pest’s increased resistance to chemical pesticide, demand for eco-friendly biopesticide is globally growing day by day. Also while more and more modern molecular biology is applied to development of biopesticide, new biopesticide varieties have emerged over recent years.

•    New Varieties Emerged
•    Microbial Source-based Pesticide Became Mainstream

According to incomplete statistics of AgroPages, 24 biopesticide varieties were registered globally in 2015, covering microbial source-based, plant source-based and animal source-based biopesticide, of which microbial source-based biopesticide amounted to 18 varieties taking a dominant position and becoming the mainstream registration of 2015.
Compared with other biopesticide, microbial source-based pesticide can provide longer pest control effect due to its fast breeding of bio-control factor. A more detailed division of the source can split microbial biopesticide into bacterial biopesticide, fungal biopesticide and viral biopesticide. B. amyloliquefaciens strain D747 (commodity name: Double Nickel) is a bacterial biopesticide discovered by Kumiai Chemical, which was licensed to Mitsui & Co subsidiary Certis (USA) in 2010 for global marketing. In 2015, Certis (USA) obtained registration in Canada for the Double Nickel and its 2 terminal formulations Double Nickel 55 and Double Nickel LC. Back in 2011, Certis (USA) registered Double Nickel in 2011, and authorized its exclusive distribution right in Mexico to Summit Agro Mexico.  The registration of Double Nickel in Canada enabled Certis (USA) to complete the sales deployment of Double Nickel in North America.

The biofungicide Companion® of Growth Products contains GB03 strain of Bacillus subtilis, having been registered in the US in 2015. Its active ingredient GB03 strain of Bacillus subtilis is a natural plant growth-promoting Rhizobacteria  (PGPR) which can produce  a broad-spectrum antibiotic (iturin)，which disrupts pathogen cell-wall formation and colonizes quickly to crowd out and prevent pathogen growth and antagonistic effects.

Bacillus thuringiensis is the world’s most widely and successfully used bioinsecticide, which accounts for above 90% of the total bio-control factor. In 2015, the Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.aizawai strain ABTS-1857 and its terminal product XenTari WG of Valent BioSciences obtained registration in Canada to control many Lepidoptera larvae that are pests of various fruit, vegetable, oilseed and ornamental crops.

The newly registered fungal biopesticide registered in 2015 mainly includes the biopesticide Trichoderma harzianum strain T-22 of Koppert Biological Systems. In 2015, Koppert Biological Systems used the trade names Trianum WG and Trianum Gto, having registered in Canada the Trichoderma harzianum strain T-22，to suppress various root diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium ultimum, P. aphanidermatum, P. violae on greenhouse crops, field crops and greenhouse ornamentals. In 2015, a number of biopesticide companies headed by Andermatt Biocontrol registered several viral biopesticide, mainly including Andermatt Biocontrol’s Loopex® (Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus FV11), Madex Twin (Cydia pomonella granulovirus), Grandex® (Cydia pomonella granulovirus), Helicovex® ( Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus) and BioProdex’s SolviNix LC (Tobacco mild green mosaic tobamovirus strains U2).

Microbial biopesticide has the advantages of multi-purpose use, uneasy to cause resistance, flexible selection for use, simple fermentation process and low cost of production. So far the registration tendency shows that microbial source-based biopesticide will still be the main choice for registration.

•    Industry being Consolidated   
•    Biopesticide Industry Players Diversified

According to the census of the US Biopesticide Industry Alliance, biopesticide accounts globally for less than 5% of the total pesticide market, where chemical pesticide still takes the dominant position.  Biopesticide market share is rather small, but the biopesticide registration companies in 2015 reveals a profound change in the biopesticide industry structure.

At present the conventional biopesticide companies represented by Stockton and Andermatt Biocontrol are still the main industry players for registration of biopesticide. These companies have run their business for long years in the biopesticide industry, being very experienced in product research and marketing. It is difficult to rock their dominant position in the industry. However as their biopesticide variety is primarily based on their core technology, so the product variety is rather simple, as being reflected by their registrations in 2015. Andermatt Biocontrol is an advanced granulovirus technical research company, having registered in 2015 the biopesticide Loopex®, Madex Twin, Grandex® and Helicovex®. All its product are based on its core granulovirus technology. As a plant source-based biopesticide industry leader, Stockton’s product is all originated from plant extractions, typically represented by its flagship biofungicide product Timorex Gold® (plant extract of the Melaleuca alternifolia). Stockton did not release any new product in 2015, but concentrated on registrations of Timorex Gold® in various countries, having succeeded in registrations in Philippines, Macedonia, Korea and several states of the US.

It is worthy of note that over recent years the Top6 agrochemicals have turned to biopesticide market, starting their presence in the industry. Take an example of Bayer CropScience’s acquisition of the 2 large biotechnical companies – AgraQuest and Prophyta, the acquisition allowed Bayer CropScience to establish a leading biotechnical platform. After long-year operation, Bayer CropScience has made remarkable achievement in biopesticide business sector. Following the registration in 2014 of the 2 products - Kodiak® Concentrate  and Serenade SOIL® which are based on Bacillus subtilis, the latest bioinsecticide Requiem™ ( Terpenoid Blend QRD 460）of Bayer CropScience, registered in EU in 2015. Requiem™ is based on the optimized blend of terpenes intended to mimic the naturally occurring extract of the plant species Chenopodium ambrosioides near ambrosioides, a flowering plant commonly known as Epazote and American Wormseed，which is of special effect against pest of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The product is expected to be registered in several European countries by the end of 2016, to be released to market in 2017.

Among the Top6, Syngenta always treats biopesticide as part of its business strategy. To be more specific, Syngenta takes biopesticide as a supplement to the chemical pesticide to be contained in the comprehensive solutions, especially targeting at special crops. Since 2011, Syngenta established technical partnership with Pasteuria Bioscience for joint development of the bionematicide based on the Pasteuria nishizawae Pn1. In 2015, Syngenta’s Pasteuria nishizawae Pn1 and the terminal product Clariva™ pn was registered in Canada, used as bionematicide to prevent and suppress soybean cyst nematode, which opened up a new page of Syngenta’s biopesticide development.

When pesticide industry is developing toward the “green storm”, the second-tier agrochemical companies represented by FMC do not want to be left behind and have speeded up their business expansion toward biopesticide. In 2013, FMC acquired the Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biosolutions (CAEB), a division of North Carolina-based RTI International, followed by establishment of strategic partnership with Chr. Hansen, thus enabling FMC to set up a world-level platform to keep pace with the fast-growing biopesticide development. In 2015 the biofungicide BLAD polypeptide and the terminal product Fracture® developed independently by FMC obtained registration in Canada while its other  in-furrow product Ethos™ XB (bifenthrin + B. amyloliquefaciens strain D747) which integrates the anti-pest and anti-disease functions was also launched to US market in 2015, being FMC’s first biopesticide for corn field. Additionally FMC cooperated with other biopesticide companies to jointly develop biopesticide market. In 2015, FMC launched respectively to Brazilian market the Regalia® Maxx (extract of reynoutria sachalinensis) biofungicide of Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI) and the Helicover® (Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus) bioinsecticide of Andermatt Biocontrol.

The structural change in the biopesticide industry reflects the development tendency of biopesticide – merger and acquisition. Since the 21st century, biopesticide has been growing rapidly all over the world. However there are still problems existing with the biopesticide market, mainly attributable to decentralized biopesticide market which is segmented by more than 100 small and medium enterprises, many of which supply only one or two kinds of products. This situation is to the disadvantage of biopesticide growth and large-scale operation. Via merger and acquisition, the superior resources of both sides can be fully utilized to facilitate the biopesticide-oriented research and investment to the benefit of a healthy and sustainable development of biopesticide industry in a centralized manner. To this end, merger and acquisition will continue in the biopesticide industry, which will be a main driving force to the biopesticide development.

•    Epoch Needs Biopesticide  
•    Great Potentials for Future

Biopesticide is agriculture’s new-emerging market. Over recent years, biopesticide has developed rapidly due to its research capacity, availability of mature Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated crop management (ICM), as well as the increased planting area of organic crops.

Regarding the future prospects of biopesticide, all prime agrochemical companies appear to be optimistic. For example, conventional biopesticide company like Stockton believes that the biopesticide industry will continue to expand as long as human, animal and environmental health concerns continue to play a key role driving growth for biopesticides. Growers using traditional chemical products will eventually have to adopt biopesticides in their farming practices, although the transition is yet far from being easy. On the other side, Andermatt Biocontrol said that biopesticide industry is exposed to strong changes. Investments of multinational companies have big influence in development of the industry. More and more, small and medium sized companies belong to multinationals. Market is asking for more and more biopesticides. Market growth is much bigger compared to chemical compounds. This trend is expected to remain stable also in near future.

For Top 6, their series of acquisitions of biopesticide companies are not done at discretion, but due to their clear understanding of the object of acquisition and the biopesticide market.  Like what is said by Bayer CropScience, biopesticide is a new-emerging market, but it grows fast with great potentials. Syngenta expressed their good impression of the biopesticide, which is more and more attracting growers because biopesticide has become an important choice for growers to prevent pest disease, reduce resistance and control residues. All these facts are in favor of development of biopesticide market.

So far as the shortcoming of biopesticide is concerned, like the relatively lower efficacy and slow effecting, BASF holds the view that compared with chemical synthesized pesticide, biopesticide efficacy is not high. However if biopesticide is used together with chemical pesticide, those problems would be solved, this can also bring farmers a double benefit - residue control and resistance management.

As a new comer in the biopesticide industry, FMC holds a promising view about the future of biopesticide. FMC said that although biopesticides have been registered and sold for use in crop protection markets for over 50 years, the sector remains in an early growth phase.  There is great growth potential for biopesticides being driven by customers increasingly demanding more sustainable solutions for crop protection and yield maximization.

In conclusion, biopesticide conforms to the present “green crop protection” concept and provides an exceptional advantage. With the agrochemical giants stepping into the industry, resources will be further consolidated. It is certain that biopesticide will exert a strong vitality and move into a flourishing era.




This article will be published in the magazine of 2015 Annual Review. If you want to know more themes and details, please click  the following picture:


Focus of this issue:
•    Exclusive interview of leading companies
•    Analysis of Industry Trends
•    Agro-Company Activities in 2015
•    Overview of registered and launched products in 2015
•    Analysis of Global Agricultural Biotech Industry in 2015
•    In Focus
       - Japan Agrochem Firms
       - Biopesticide
       - Biostimulant