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Belgian biotech company AgroSavfe raises €35m to develop eco-friendly pesticides

AgroSavfe NV, a Belgium-based agro-biotech company, recently announced it closed a Series B financing round of €7.8million. The funds will be used for the advanced development of its novel Agrobodies® as biopesticides. The first submissions for regulatory approval in Europe and the US are expected in 2018.

Agrobodies® are small proteins that can be designed and formulated to bind to essential elements of crop pests and diseases. AgroSavfe has generated Agrobodies® with anti-fungal activity and is developing these into a novel class of biofungicides. The company is pursuing an ambitious product development program and is expanding its team at the Technologiepark in Ghent. All current AgroSavfe investors: Gimv, PMV, VIB, Agri Investment Fund, Biovest, Madeli Participaties and Qbic, as well as Globachem NV as new investor participated in the Series B round.

“This is a technology platform with amazing breadth. Given the ease for large scale manufacturing, the market potential is enormous. The board and the management made a smart move to focus first on the fruit & vegetables market, to be followed by fungicides for row crops such as cereals and soybean, as well as insecticides,” said Koen Quaghebeur, founder and president of Globachem NV.

Lieven De Smedt, chairman of the board of AgroSavfe adds: “We are extremely proud to have Globachem as new investor and see this investment as a true validation of our strategic choices. Having also Luc Basstanie, representing Boerenbond’s Agri Investment Fund, as a new board member adds further expertise in crop protection and sustainable farming. We are convinced that together with our existing investors, we will grow AgroSavfe to become a world player in biopesticides for conventional farming and for biological farming.”