BASF, PAT reach collaboration for the discovery and development of novel biopesticides

BASF and Plant Advanced Technologies(PAT)recently announced the signing of a collaboration agreement for the discovery and development of novel biopesticides for agriculture.

Under the terms of the agreement, PAT will utilize its "Plant Milking®" and "Target Binding®" technologies to identify potential bio-chemical candidates for novel pesticides. BASF will use its proprietary advanced plant platform to screen the candidates in order to experimentally validate their biological effects. Successful candidates from this collaboration will be further developed by BASF. BASF and PAT bring key capabilities to the collaboration to intensify the identification and production of natural active ingredient sable to achieve the efficiency and quality standards of crop protection products expected by farmers.

BASF offers one of the industry's strongest and most diverse portfolios for crop protection. The company's strong position is based on its continuing focus on innovation to drive its pipeline. PAT is a company specialized in the discovery and production engineering of rare natural plant compounds with proprietary technologies. As a pioneer in these fields, PAT has established biological production facilities with technology on a scale and standard that is globally unique. Based on this technology, the natural potential of plants is unlocked to produce biomolecules so far deemed inaccessible, both utilizing and preserving the environment and natural plant biodiversity. Building on these core capabilities, PAT disclosed the discovery and successful validation of a set of targets and biomolecules beginning of the year. These molecules will be part of the collaboration.

"This first screening phase of natural active ingredients from PAT that shows a strong fit with our crop protection solutions makes us very optimistic for the future of our collaboration.Resistance management is a pressing issue for many growers across the world. Thus, establishing such a partnership to identify and develop fungicides, herbicides and insecticides with novel modes of action is nowneeded more than ever before.It is a great opportunity to combine PAT’s expertise in plant physiology and natural substance identification with BASF’s strength in lead structure optimization and product development,"explained Philip Lane, Vice President Global Research & Development, BASF Crop Protection.

Jean-Paul Fèvre, President of PAT stated:"We see a significant opportunity for our company to provide natural compounds of interest with our unique technology for meeting key unmet commercial needs in the agro chemical field. Therefore, we are extremely pleased and proud to have teamed up with BASF in our initialefforts to identify promising candidates to serve as the basis for next generation pesticides. We are convinced that the combined knowledge and experience of the companies will lead to the development of breakthrough solutions to tackle challenges of crop protection: new mode of actions, new molecules profiles in line with consumers and society’s expectations."

About Startup Plant Advanced Technologies

PAT is a plant biotechnology company producing rare, new actives dedicated to cosmetic, pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets.

PAT develops exclusive solutions that:
•    offer innovative and differentiating products with high added value
•    extend the frontiers of plant "sourcing" so that rare compounds can be produced industrially while preserving plant biodiversity
•    are complete, controlled all the way from the plants to the final product

PAT is listed on ALTERNEXT of Euronext Paris (ISINcode: FR0010785790 - Mnémonique: ALPAT).