U.S. issued AgriMetis’s L-Glufosinate process patent

AgriMetis, LLC recently announced that its patent application, drawn to methods of making its broad-spectrum herbicide product, L-Glufosinate (Glu-L™), has been issued as U.S. Patent No. 9,834,802 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The international application filed by the company is still pending. 

The patent claims are drawn to a two-step process for the production of substantially pure L-Glufosinate. This novel enzymatic process substantially increases the proportion of the active L-Glufosinate isomer in the mixture with D-Glufosinate.

Glu-L is an improved alternative to the commercial racemic glufosinate being manufactured and sold.  The milestone achievement described in this patent exemplifies how the AgriMetis approach of combining biology and chemistry can lead to differentiated active ingredients in a well-studied agricultural crop protection market.

“We are especially proud of this important development as it will provide farmers the potential for more efficient and improved products for broad spectrum weed control,” said Steven Tuttle, President and CEO of AgriMetis.