Micropep receives US EPA classification for MPD-01

Micropep Technologies (Micropep), the global leader in micropeptide technology, announced that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified MPD-01, Micropep’s peptide-based biofungicide that controls specific plant pathogens to improve crop yield and quality, as a ″biochemical-like″ active ingredient. Micropep can now engage with the EPA to confirm data and labeling requirements to obtain a registration for MPD-01 to bring this product to market.

MPD-01 is a variant of a naturally occurring micropeptide discovered in tomato plants and represents a significant advancement in agricultural science. Unlike conventional pesticides, biochemicals like MPD-01 are derived from natural sources and present a non-toxic mode of action to control target pests.

Compared with a typical conventional chemical pesticide, MPD-01 is inherently less toxic to humans and wildlife, more selective for the fungal pathogen, effective at lower dose rates, and rapidly biodegrades in the environment. These characteristics of MPD-01 contribute to a very favorable human and environmental safety profile and underscore its potential as a sustainable agricultural solution.

In addition to this regulatory milestone, Micropep has conducted successful field trials of MPD-01 in various global locations, including California, North Carolina, Paraguay, and France. These trials have demonstrated Promisin's efficacy in managing diseases and boosting crop production, particularly in potatoes, soybeans, and grapes.

The trials further indicate that MPD-01 can be an essential component in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, offering preventative and contact crop protection solutions. With its high level of disease control and significant impact on crop yield, MPD-01 stands out among bio-control competitors, underscoring Micropep's commitment to innovation and sustainability in agriculture.

″We’ve implemented and used a generative artificial intelligence (AI) pipeline to create a library of thousands of antifungal peptides compatible with proprietary manufacturing rules. The prediction model has been built from public and Micropep-owned experimental data to predict the antimicrobial activity of a peptide,″ said Mikael Courbot, CTO of Micropep. "Micropep’s pipeline generated thousands of peptides from a seed sequence and selected those with the highest probability to be active, stable, and producible.″

With up to 50 field trials run by third parties, the organization has seen MPD-01 delivering a good level of control that is better than most competitors. Depending on the crop and the environmental conditions, MPD-01 delivers up to 75% disease control, whereas most bio-control competitors barely reach 50%.

MPD-01 has a broad spectrum of activity, making it suitable to meet the challenges of disease control in countries and crops worldwide. Therefore, there are significant opportunities for distributors looking to enhance their product offering with a safe, active substance that can limit resistance occurrence and improve efficiency in disease management.

″We have tested MPD-01 efficacy in research trials over the last three years in soybeans, wheat, and potatoes in South America, and we have seen significant effects of this technology in terms of yield and quality. We expect this innovative and flexible bio-solution will enable growers to conserve scarce resources as they embrace regenerative agriculture," said Mariano Battista, Director of AgIdea.

MPD-01 is not a single-shot solution from Micropep. The organization is working on additional leads with two peptides, MP594 and MP478, already in the field, showing promising results and excellent efficacy. Micropep is putting in place a strong pipeline of products to address the growing demand for sustainably produced food.