Staphyt BioTeam: experts to help your biocontrol and biostimulant projects

As a service provider in agrosciences and regulatory affairs, the international French group Staphyt has been working for nearly 35 years with companies producing agricultural inputs to test and market new agricultural specialities, including biosolutions - the area of expertise of the BioTeam set up in 2011.

The BioTeam, a hub of multidisciplinary expertise for the registration of biopesticides and biostimulants

The Staphyt team responsible for biological products is made up of agronomists, scientists and experts in regulatory affairs who are able to respond and match to the needs of companies involved or wishing to become involved in alternative methods of crop protection and nutrition. Its role is to manage the preparation of registration dossiers, risk assessment and the management of trial programmes - in controlled conditions and in the field - from the initial efficacy tests (and the definition of the development strategy) through to the marketing of the product (and support for the sales teams) at national and international level.

"Because of their unusual product nature, these biosolutions are more difficult to test and require customised datasets and protocols - an area in which our group has specialised for more than 10 years," explains Geoffroy Moulin, coordinator of the BioTeam.

"Very few global players have the experience and diversity of expertise that we have. This is our strength in helping to obtain the regulatory data required for the approval of an active substance or a marketing authorisation. Because product approvals, and the renewal of a substance, require more work than in the past, given the increase in requirements, we are all working to ensure that our knowledge is shared across the board and that our skills are continually enhanced. Registering biopesticides is a constant headache, mainly because of the specific nature of each case studied and the guidelines originally produced for chemical substances. For biopesticides as well as biostimulants, the situation is made even more complex by the variability of national approval criteria and the difficulties involved in characterizing each active substance, demonstrating its efficacy and assessing its risks for humans, environment and non-target organisms".

Field trials, a decisive step in the registration process

For optimum support in the management of biopesticide and biostimulant programmes, it is crucial to take into account the specific characteristics of these products, as well as to know the nature and mode of action of their active substance before starting work. Field trials, in particular, are crucial to exploiting the full potential of these products. They require a more technical approach, advanced agronomic knowledge, taking into account the crop history of the plot and the soil and climate conditions...

Staphyt, member of the French Biocontrol Consortium and co-founder of ABBA*

Staphyt's pool of specialists is well connected to industry associations in order to accelerate the development of alternative solutions to conventional agriculture. BioTeam works closely with the consortium set up in 2016 as part of the French strategy for the deployment of biocontrol solutions. Co-steered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Ecological Transition, this consortium, which Staphyt joined in the summer of 2021, brings together around sixty public research players, specialist institutes and private developers of innovative solutions.

The aim is to work together to better support and promote innovative solutions to protect and feed plants, in order to ensure the sustainability of agricultural systems and food sovereignty. How can we do this? Through research and innovation, by creating new tools for monitoring the performance and effectiveness of these organic products, and by improving the conditions for assessing the risk of these products.

As the Biocontrol Consortium comes to an end at the end of 2023, Staphyt is already involved in the creation of ABBA - Association du Biocontrôle et de la Biostimulation pour l'Agroécologie - to continue the development of biocontrol and biostimulation solutions. "The development of biological solutions requires a better understanding of how substances work in different agronomic contexts," explains Geoffroy Moulin. "With the launch of the Grand Défi Biocontrôle & Biostimulation pour l'Agroécologie as part of the France 2030 plan, our scientific and technical teams will continue to take part in these discussions and working groups. Our aim is to develop new areas of research and build on existing knowledge.″

Staphyt, a project facilitator

Relatively less costly to register than conventional products, due to toxicology classifications deemed more favorable, biocontrol solutions already account for 12% of the plant protection market - and their share could rise to 15% by 2023, predicts IBMA, the international association of biocontrol manufacturers. "In France in particular, biopesticides are expanding rapidly because of the advantages they offer," confirms Amélie Grimaldi from Staphyt Regulatory Affairs. "The cost of a dossier is lower, in particular because the number of studies is lower when the development criterion is that the substance supported must not present any risk to the consumer, apart from a possible irritant effect. The difference between the cost of approving a low-risk active substance is 1 to 5: 2M€, compared with 10mM€ for a conventional substance with a toxicological classification. Development and assessment times are also shortened, and approval periods lengthened.″

As biocontrol is not the only tool that can be used in agroecology, Staphyt is also actively involved in the development of biostimulants in Europe. In 2014, the group coordinated the guideline for efficacy testing of these products in France (CEB MG15), and was also involved in BN Ferti's proposals for establishing rules for assessing fertiliser products under Regulation 2019/1009.

From field to fork, forward-looking solutions for healthy, sustainable food

From field to fork, by helping its customers to bring to market a new generation of products that are effective and safe, but also capable of preserving the environment and natural ecosystems, Staphyt is part of the Green Deal movement and the Farm to Fork policy in Europe. Working alongside farmers and the international agri-food industry as a whole, the innovative French company is demonstrating that complementary avenues of development are possible, and that tomorrow's agriculture is partly feasible today.

*Association Biocontrôle et Biostimulation pour l’Agroécologie

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