Simbiose launches Frontier Control, a biofungicide developed with UEL

Brazilian company Simbiose has announced the launch and commencement of sales for the biofungicide Frontier Control (Bacillus velezensis), a microbiological fungicide with a Concentrated Suspension (SC) formulation, recommended for ground application. 

According to Simbiose, this bioinput is recommended for all crops with occurrences of the biological targets Pantoea ananatis (White Spot) and Septoria glycines (Brown Spot).

The product was developed in partnership with the State University of Londrina (UEL), a result of a collaboration between the Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory (Labim), the Center for Biological Sciences (CCB), and the Technological Innovation Agency (Aintec). The cooperation agreement began in 2017, and since then, tests have shown that Frontier Control is effective in controlling diseases that mainly affect soybeans and corn.

"On average, at least two years of research are required, plus a period to start production. So, considering that we had the pandemic, this process was completed in an interesting timeframe. It's the kind of result we are thrilled to see due to the closing of a cycle," said  Edson Antônio Miura, director of Aintec. 

The agreement between UEL and Simbiose stipulates that the receipt of royalties on intellectual property will begin one year after the commercialization of the first batch of the product, i.e., in the second half of 2024. "According to the university's intellectual property resolution, it is divided among the research authors, i.e., those who were registered as authors with the university," according to Marinno Arthur.

Artur Soares, Simbiose's Director of Research and Development, noted  that the success of products generated by joint efforts is a matter of patience and hard work in convincing farmers to use them. He emphasizes that the technology's effectiveness is attested by reports from institutions accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture, where validation processes are carried out, providing more security to farmers who choose to use Frontier.

"Partnership, when done well, is a recipe for success. We combine all the researcher's knowledge with our expertise, meaning the industry, and marketing. It's the perfect fit. We understand that the partnership with UEL is a milestone for the company, and the result will be very positive for both," added Soares .

Professor Admilton Gonçalves de Oliveira, coordinator of Labim, said that the partnership with Simbiose dates back to the birth of the Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, created to intensify applied research. With an eye on prospecting microorganisms for use in agriculture, Labim's research team developed a protocol, integrating different techniques to obtain highly promising isolates.

Among the isolates, Bacillus velezensis strain LABIM40 was chosen to develop the biofungicide within the partnership between UEL and Simbiose. The acronym LABIM40 corresponds to position 40 in the Labim microorganism bank. The species Bacillus velezensis is so named because it was first isolated from the Vélez River in Málaga, Spain.

"Much of the laboratory's maturity and human resources come through the approval of projects and, mainly, the financial contribution of this project, which we called the Frontier project at the time. The idea was a concept of a biopesticide that was at the forefront of technology development," says Labim's coordinator.

"The biofungicide Frontier Control is a product loaded with a lot of technological innovation, from manufacturing to the formulation. It delivers the power of biology with the performance of synthetic chemistry. It is a technology focused on higher productivity with sustainability," he added.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)