2020 Overview of Globally Registered, Launched Pesticides and Analysis of Key Varieties

As basic pesticide-related issues are gradually being solved, more requirements for new applications are emerging, such as coping with pesticide resistance, maintaining safety and greenness, increasing product utilization rates, and responding to decreased biodiversity. In line with current demands, the development of new ingredients for global pesticides is becoming increasingly difficult, resulting in the slow decrease of the research and development efficiency of pesticides. Therefore, more time and higher costs are required for the research and development of new products, and the overall product life cycle must be extended. 

Currently, the new active ingredient of a pesticide needs to be assessed for a time period of 11 years and will cost US$286 million from development to launch, meaning that the creation cost has increased by 55% compared to more than 10 years ago. In this case, from the perspective of the global pesticide industry chain, international companies will still aim to dominate the market by developing innovative mechanisms, such as new formulations and new technologies, to control the registration and marketing channels of pesticide products.

This article summarizes and analyzes the key pesticide varieties registered and launched globally in 2020 from three aspects, which are “first registration across the world,” “independent research and development in China,” and “new resistance management.” Among these products, some have already become blockbuster products, some are becoming blockbuster products, some have been launched in the market, and some have the potential to become blockbuster products and are to be lauched in the market soon. We hope that introducing these products can inspire our readers.

BASF Leading First Registration of New AIs across the Globe

Filling in gap in weed prevention -- BASF's innovative herbicides Tirexor^® and Voraxor^®  

On 14th July, 2020, BASF's innovative herbicide, Tirexor^® was approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), the first registration of the product in the world. Tirexor^® contains the active ingredient, trifludimoxazin, and is the first herbicide with a new action mode for killing gramineous weeds released in the last 20 years. BASF is planning to apply for the registration of Tirexor^® in Asia, South America and North America.

Tirexor^® can be applied flexibly and acts fast, offering farmers a new basic weed control product. In addition, it has long-lasting residual activity and performs effectively on weeds at a low usage rate. Tirexor^® can be used on a variety of crops, such as corn, soybean, grain, peanut and orange. Peter Weinert (Vice President of Global Strategic Marketing for Herbicides at BASF's Agricultural Solutions Department) said, “Tirexor^® utilizes a novel combination mechanism to achieve the optimal control of broadleaf weeds and gramineous weeds, which have already shown obvious weed resistance. This herbicide offers growers more choices, helping them control weeds more effectively and filling in the gap in their weed control programs.”

In the same year, APVMA approved the registration of BASF's new multifunctional herbicide Voraxor^® (Trifludimoxazin + saflufenacil). The registration of this new herbicide will help Australian wheat, durum and barley growers expand their pre-emergence weed prevention and control spectrums and extend their weed prevention and control times. Voraxor^® is expected to be used as a pre-emergence herbicide in the grain growing season in 2021.

Stuart McLaverty (Senior Portfolio Manager of BASF's Agricultural Solutions Department) said, “We are very pleased to launch this important tool with brand-new features, which can accomplish multiple tasks at the same time and help growers bridge the existing gap in their weed control plans. Voraxor^® can quickly kill a variety of broadleaf weeds that appear before sowing. Once incorporated into the sowing program, it can continuously control 16 major broadleaf weeds for up to 12 weeks.”

Opening new decade -- First registration of FMC's revolutionary herbicide Overwatch^®

On 7th April, 2020, a revolutionary herbicide, Overwatch^® (Active Ingredient: bixlozone), from FMC's R&D pipeline was fully registered in Australia and will be launched in the winter planting season in 2021, the first appearance of Overwatch^® in the world. After its launch in Australia, Overwatch^® will continue to expand its footprint globally. It is planned to be launched in Europe in 2023, in Asia after 2023, and in Brazil after 2025. Its peak sales total is expected to reach US$500 million, according to FMC’s estimates.

FMC is a company with strong growth in the international agrochemical sector. Several major acquisitions after the start of 2010 injected vitality into its product pipeline, which, in addition to increased R&D investment, enabled FMC’s four new compound molecules in the innovation pipeline, including bixlozone, to reach the R&D terminal. They will be registered and released in the market successively from 2026 at the earliest. FMC expects the annual revenue of all products in its innovation pipeline to reach US$2.5 billion to US$3 billion by 2030.

Annual peak sales expected 7 billion yen, Nihon Nohyaku registers innovative insecticide Orchestra^® 

On 14th September, 2020, Nihon Nohyaku completed the registration, in Japan, of its two innovative insecticide products, Orchestra^®flowable and Orchestra^®dust formulation, which are based on the new active ingredient, benzpyrimoxan, the first registration of benzpyrimoxan in the world. Since benzpyrimoxan has a novel mechanism of action and high insecticidal activity against pests, with reduced sensitivity to existing insecticides, as well as no cross-resistance with existing insecticides, it can be used for the resistance management and comprehensive treatment of pests. Nihon Nohyaku is currently developing mixtures of benzpyrimoxan and a variety of insecticides and fungicides.

The company plans to launch Orchestra^®flowable and Orchestra^®dust formulations in Japan in May 2021 and in India in 2023. In addition, it is considering expanding the registration of these products in Southeast Asian countries and planning to develop and promote them globally. According to the company’s estimates, the annual peak sales of these two novel insecticide products can reach 1 billion yen in the Japanese market and 6 billion yen in the Indian market within five years after their launch, meaning that their total annual peak sales will be approximately 7 billion yen.

Nihon Nohyaku has always prioritized product research and development and spent 10% of its sales on this segment, with the goal of “creating at least one active ingredient every three years.” Through the launch of new products, the company will achieve substantial growth in terms of performance, to realize the annual sales goal of 100 billion yen.

Industry-University-Research Cooperation Help China Become a Rising Star in R&D  

In 2020, a total of nine new active ingredients were approved or provisionally approved by the ISO Technical Committee on Common Names for Pesticides. Four of the nine are new active ingredients independently developed in China, including the insecticide, Cyproflanilide, the fungicides, Flubeneteram and Chloroinconazide and the acaricide, Cyetpyrafen.

On 7th December, 2020, the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the “Publication of the 12th Batch of Pesticide Products to be Approved and Registered in 2020,” announcing that the new pesticides, Quinotrione 98% TC and Quinotrione 10% SC, will be approved for registration. Quinotrione, a novel herbicide with full independent intellectual property rights, is an outcome of industry-university-research cooperation, jointly created and developed by Cynda and Central China Normal University.

Cyproflanilide - CAC Nantong Chemical

Cyproflanilide is a meta-diamide-structured insecticide created by CAC Nantong Chemical Co., Ltd., with a bisamide-structured insecticide as its main compound, CAS No.: 2375110-88-4. As an allosteric modulator of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated chloride ion channels, the product is included in Group 30 by the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC).

Due to its efficiency, low toxicity, broad insecticidal spectrum, good permeability, rapid onset, and lasting effect, cyproflanilide can effectively prevent and control pests, such as Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Thysanoptera. Furthermore, the product can be used for resistance management and effectively solve the problem of having no insecticide available for the resistance areas of chilo suppressalis, since it has no cross resistance with existing insecticides and can be widely applied on a variety of crops, including rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, fruit trees and vegetables.

As the first brand-new insecticide independently developed by CAC Nantong Chemical Co., Ltd., cyproflanilide has entered the substantive registration stage. At present, CAC Nantong Chemical has applied for a patent for this compound in 16 countries and regions, including China, Europe, Japan, South Korea, the United States (US), Australia, Vietnam and the Philippines. China, Japan and Australia have approved the applications. 

On 2nd December, 2020, CAC Nantong Chemical signed a contract with Syngenta (China) Group to formally launch the “Cyproflanilide-related Strategic Cooperation in China”.

Flubeneteram - Central China Normal University

Flubeneteram is a new succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor-type pyrazole amide fungicide developed by Central China Normal University, based on the pharmacophore-linked fragments virtual screening strategy (PFVS), CAS No: 1676101-39-5.

Flubeneteram offers systemicity and is resistant to rain erosion. It also requires a low dosage and has no cross-resistance with conventional pyrazole amide fungicides, with a higher control effect and a lower cost compared to thiafluzamide. Flubeneteram products have excellent control effects on rice sheath blight and have high activity against powdery mildew, soybean rust, corn rust and wheat leaf blight.

Flubeneteram-related technology has been transferred to the Shenzhen Dongguang Technology Company, and is expected to obtain registration approval for the new pesticide in 2021.

Chloroinconazide - Jingbo Agrochem and Nankai University

Chloroinconazide is a brand-new innovative fungicide, jointly developed by Jingbo Agrochemicals Technology Co., Ltd. and Nankai University. It is also a natural alkaloid derivative of tetrahydrocarboline, CAS No.: 2442449-10-5.

Jingbo Agrochem has established a nationwide sales and service network in China. In the international market, it conducts business with countries in Africa, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, South America, North America and Eastern Europe. It also conducts independent registrations of pesticides in markets and regions that include the European Union (EU), Brazil, Ghana, Myanmar, Korea and Australia. The company attaches great importance to the creation of an independent brand overseas and has established branchs in Ghana and Cambodia to increase its influence. In 2019, Jingbo Agrochem was ranked 36th among China’s top 100 enterprises in the pesticide industry.

Cyetpyrafen - Shenyang Sciencreat

Cyetpyrafen is a new β-ketonitrile derivative-type acaricide developed by the Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry through the intermediate derivatization method, CAS No.: 1253429-01-4. The product has contact killing and stomach poisoning functions and is highly active against spider mites at various growth stages, better than cyflumetofen and cyenopyrafen.

Cyetpyrafen 98% TC and 30% SC (Trade Name: Baozhuo) have been registered by Shenyang Sciencreat Chemicals Co., Ltd. and offers advantages such as being quick-acting (showing an obvious effect within 1 to 3 days), a long-lasting effect of up to 30 days or more, being safe and harmless to bees, having no cross-resistance and a broad mite-killing spectrum, being effective against mite eggs, young mites and adult mites. It is also not affected by rainfall and temperature.

In order to meet the market demand for formulations in the next five to eight years, the Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry (Nantong) announced, on 24th June, 2020, its plan to invest 100 million RMB to launch a technological transformation project that features an annual output of 5,000 tons of plant nutrients and 24,000 tons pesticide formulations. It also aims to construct new production facilities, including a newly-built Cyetpyrafen 30% SC plant with a production capacity of 3,000 tons per year.

Quinotrione - Cynda and Central China Normal University

Quinotrione is a highly effective active molecule based on a new benzoyleneurea framework created by a team led by Prof. Yang Guangfu from Central China Normal University. In 2016, the quinotrione-related technology was transferred to Cynda, which started the registration and industrialization of quinotrione. The approval of the proposed registration of quinotrione is another step forward in the industrialization of this innovative herbicide.

With fully independent intellectual property rights, quinotrione obtained the approval of an HPPD inhibitor herbicide that prevents and controls monocotyledoneae and dicotyledoneae weeds in sorghum fields for the first time across the world, which will solve the technical problem related to the prevention and control of noxious weeds, such as eriochloa villosa and speedwell, in sorghum fields. When observing the quinotrione field test site, the expert group believed that quinotrione is the world’s first super-efficient herbicide that can be applied safely and efficiently on sorghum. It not only overcomes the problem that other herbicides are prone to, which is producing phytotoxicity when applied in sorghum fields, but it also solves the technical issue of super weeds, such as eriochloa villosa in sorghum fields, which cannot be killed. According to Cynda, the patented product is expected to bring good economic benefits to the company.

New Resistance Management Solutions in a New Era of Effect Improvement

Finding herbicide resistance solutions = Grasping the future of herbicides!

The prevention and control of resistant weeds is a long-term systematic task, which it is not easy to accomplish within a short period of time. At present, the use of chemical herbicides is still the most important method of preventing and controlling, weeds in addition to such measures like optimizing planting structure and implementing physical control. However, due to the frequent use of herbicides, the problem of resistant weeds has become increasingly prominent. Controlling pesticide-resistant weeds is a major problem to overcome. Nevertheless, new solutions for herbicide resistance are bringing opportunities for the market entry and growth of new products.

On 1st April, 2020, BASF's Alite™27 herbicide (Active Ingredient: isoxaflutole) was approved for registration by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),and can be used for weeding in soybean fields. As the first and the only herbicide in Group 27 available for use on LibertyLink GT27 soybeans, it offers a new mode of action for growers. Compared to conventional pre-emergence herbicides, Alite™27 features a low dosage of use and high tank-mixing compatibility and can be used in combination with other pre-emergence herbicides to improve herbicide resistance. Darren Unland (Marketing Manager of BASF’s Agricultural Solutions Department) said, “One of the biggest challenges facing growers is resistant weeds, which should be addressed with a new active ingredient in the soybean market.”

On 24th April, 2020, Corteva's innovative herbicide, Loyant^®, was registered urgently in Spain for post-emergence weeding during rice planting. Loyant^® is the first formulation based on the active ingredient, Rinskor™ (florpyrauxifen-benzyl), developed by Corteva. Florpyrauxifen-benzyl is the first member of a new family of synthetic auxin, also known as aromatic picolinic acids, bringing a new and alternative mode of action to prevent broadleaf weeds, nutgrass flatsedge and gramineous weeds in rice. Therefore, the use of the active ingredient, Rinskor™, in some weed control programs, including against resistant species, can help achieve higher crop yields. Due to its features, such as broad spectrum, flexibility and environmental safety, Loyant^® has become an important tool for growers to improve planting results in a sustainable way.

On 29th October, 2020, the US EPA approved the registration of the herbicide, BASF's Engenia^®, which can be used on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. Based on BASF's proprietary BAPMA technology, Engeni^® is the most advanced dicamba formula on the market and can control more than 200 broadleaf weeds, including glyphosate-resistant weeds. BASF will continue to cooperate with the US EPA and state agencies to provide effective training programs, to ensure that farmers and applicators receive the required training on the labels of new herbicides. Rick Chamblee (Director of U.S. Crop Technical Services, BASF’s Agricultural Solutions Department said, “Knowing appropriate application technologies and understanding product labeling requirements are critical to maximizing the target application of Engeni^®. BASF will continue to be engaged in the development of new preparation formulations, to provide farmers with more solutions for controlling herbicide-resistant weeds and produce targeted application products.”

KingAgroot recently launched four brand-new patented compounds, which cover the weeding of three major crops, including wheat (cypyrafluone and bipyrazone), rice (tripyrasulfone), and corn (fenpyrozone). By aiming to solve the problem of weed resistance from two aspects, the research and development of new compounds and the targeted breeding by gene editing, KingAgroot has constantly launched new solutions, such as weed resistance solutions for the most important food crops in China and the rest of the world for the next twenty years. In the next five years, KingAgroot will successively launch six new patented compounds, bring its total number of patented herbicide compounds on sale to 10, meaning that the company probably possess the highest number of patented herbicide products in the world.

“1 + 1 >> 2” -- Reasonably mixing mainstream insecticides and fungicides, to increase product promotion opportunities

The resistance of plant diseases and insect pests has always been a vexing problem for the entire agrochemical industry. For example, the resistance of wheat scab, rape sclerotinia and rice bakanae disease to fungicides such as carbendazim has become very serious. Another example is the insecticide resistance of pests, such as beet armyworms, prodenia litura and Chilo suppressalis, which is obvious to all. From pyrethroid to abamectin, the dosages of emamectin benzoate and chlorantraniliprole used mostly today has been several or even dozens of times than initial dosages. Therefore, it is necessary to rationally change and combine the use of pesticides while constantly monitoring the resistance of plant diseases and insect pests.

On 28th April, 2020, Syngenta launched a new product portfolio based on the characteristics of its product line, the fungicide, BRAVONIL TOP, and the insecticides, MINECTO PRO and AMPLIGO PRO：

- BRAVONIL TOP  is a broad-spectrum fungicide prepared with two complementary fungicides, with one being the single-site fungicide, Difenoconazole, and the other the multi-site fungicide, Chlorothalonil. The product not only has a wide action range, but can also be flexibly applied during all development stages of crops.

- MINECTO PRO  is unique, due to its excellent performance and versatility, as well as its high cost-benefit ratio. The combination of two active ingredients, Cyantraniliprole and Abamectin, ensures the differential control of target pests.

- AMPLIGO PRO  has an excellent control effect on caterpillars and mites that affect cotton, through the synergistic effect between Chlorantraniliprole and Abamectin. The product has two modes of action, while having a strong killing ability, lasting effect, fast conduction, fast absorption, and long-lasting retention on leaves.

On 6th May, 2020, the US EPA approved the registration of FMC’s broad-spectrum insecticide, Elevest™, for controlling pests in soybeans, sweet corn, cotton, peanuts and potatoes. By fully combining Chlorantraniliprole, which is the industrial benchmark for the control of lepidopteran pests, with Bifenthrin, which is a main pyrethroid insecticide, Elevest™ is the only insecticide that is fully loaded with these two active ingredients in the form of a convenient premix. During the late growing season, it offers growers an insecticide that has a higher dual-action mode and broad spectrum to combat pests.

This article was initially published in AgroPages ‘Annual Review 2020’ magazine. Download it to read more articles.