UPL announces new OpenAg collaboration for “Spirotetramat” insecticide to develop novel pest management solutions

UPL Ltd. (NSE: UPL, BSE: 512070, LSE GDR: UPLL) (‘UPL’) announces a new supply agreement for “Spirotetramat”, an insecticide created and developed by Bayer for integrated pest control. The agreement reflects UPL’s OpenAg purpose and commitment to open industry collaboration.

Through this long-term global data access and supply agreement, UPL will use its expertise in insecticides and global research and development network to develop, register and distribute new differentiated solutions containing Spirotetramat, that address farmer needs specifically around resistance management and/or hard-to-control sucking pests.
 
Sucking pests, such as Mealy bugs and Whiteflies, cause significant damage to key crops such as grapes and cotton as well as other fruit and vegetables. Spirotetramat is a proprietary Group 23 insecticide that is used widely across the globe and provides farmers long-lasting effectiveness across a broad spectrum of sucking pests.

Mike Frank, President and COO at UPL, said: “As a global leader in crop protection, we have established the OpenAg® purpose to drive collaboration with expert industry partners like Bayer. As pests continue to evolve, we must stay agile and ensure our solutions are addressing grower needs. At UPL we are continually working to expand our toolbox of products and solutions.”

Hartmut van Lengerich, Head of Global Crop Protection Asset Management, Bayer Crop Science, said: “This global agreement represents an expanded partnership between our two companies. Our industry is aware of the increasing challenges growers face for managing pests effectively. Spirotetramat protects growers’ plants from a wide range of pests, leading to healthier crops, and UPL’s Spirotetramat offerings will expand this protection even further with additional differentiated products for the global agricultural community.”

This new supply agreement builds on existing license agreements between UPL and Bayer covering a range of agricultural solutions.