Provivi announces regulatory approvals for pheromones in Europe

Provivi^® Inc ("Provivi"), an emerging crop protection company using pheromones to protect crops from major damaging insects, recently announced that the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has approved Pheron™ E7-Z9-12Ac and Pheron™ E7-E/Z9-12Ac, with authorized sales effective immediately. This authorization solidifies Provivi’s standing as a recognized supplier in Europe.

Pheron™ E7-Z9-12Ac and Pheron™ E7-E/Z9-12Ac are sexual pheromones of Lobesia botrana and can be utilized to disrupt the mating process of this pest as a preventative and species-specific method in controlling pest populations while preserving biodiversity.

Lobesia botrana, otherwise known as the European grapevine moth, is a pest native to Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, but is now seen in other areas of the world. L. botrana is the most critical pest in European vineyards, globally demanding control on more than 2.3 million hectares, and is considered a quarantine pest in the United States.

"These registrations continue a series of approvals and are a testament to Provivi's capability to register and commercialize our pipeline of products under EU conditions," said Juan Lombana, Chief Commercial Officer.

About Pheromones and Mating Disruption

Pheromones are natural signal substances, produced by insects. They serve several purposes. One such is to promote reproduction when females emit specific sex pheromones to attract males for their mating. This has been commercially used by introducing dispensers or spray applications saturating the field with those pheromones. The high concentration of pheromones confuses male insects, and they fly around unable to locate the females. The mating is prevented, and pest infestation's growth is controlled in a preventive way without killing any insects.

This technology has been used for the past thirty years and is currently applied in more than one million hectares of high-value permanent crops such as apples, grapes, and nuts. The benefits of using pheromones are well established in the scientific literature: they enable a reduction of harmful residues on food while preserving biodiversity.