First Chinese company granted fluopyram registration

AgroPages has learned that the fluopyram 96% TC of Inner Mongolia Laike Crop Protection Co., Ltd was recently granted a full registration, and was the first fluopyram registration granted to a Chinese registrant, apart from the registration granted to the original product registrant Bayer.

Inner Mongolia Laike Crop Protection Co., Ltd, formerly Inner Mongolia Laike Chemical Co., Ltd, was established by a Hong Kong agrochemical company in 2015, located within Alxa Tengri Economic and Technological Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 

Inner Mongolia Laike Crop Protection Co., Ltd produces a variety of technical products, including isoprothiolane, propanil, chlorfenapyr, bispyribac-sodium, prochloraz and pyribenzoxim as well as several intermediate products.

Fluopyram is an SDHI fungicide and nematicide developed by Bayer. In addition to its use in the prevention and control of alternaria leaf spot, gray leaf, gray mold, powdery mildew, sclerotinia, and early blight on grape, pear tree, banana, apple, cucumber, and tomato field crops, fluopyram can also be filed for registration for use in a variety of crops for prevention and control of various nematodes, being a high-efficiency, green and low-toxicity nematicide.

Since its market release in 2012, Bayer, BASF, and many other companies have promoted fluopyram in the global market. So far, the product has been granted registration and marketed in more than 60 countries and regions around the world, with sales exceeding US$100 million in the first year of market release, having become the world’s leading fungicide within its ten years of market development, with global sale reaching $189 million in 2021. Bayer once predicted that the annual sale of fluopyram would peak EUR200 million.

A total of 11 fluopyram formulations have been granted registration in China. The product in China is registered mostly as a fungicide and a nematicide, including five fungicides and six nematicides.

Bayer’s critical compound of fluopyram came off patent in August 2023. However, besides the critical compound patent, Bayer holds several patents for fluopyram mixtures (including but not limited to patents described in the table below), which remain valid from 2025 to 2031. Moreover, Bayer holds the patent for the compound of fluopyram for use as nematicide until April 11, 2028.