Imaflex announces positive interim results for ADVASEAL field trial

Date:04-14-2020

- Efficacy Trial underway; conducted by independent research organization
- ADVASEAL requires over 95% less pesticides than current grower standard for soil disinfestation
- ADVASEAL is an environmentally friendly, cost- and time-saving alternative to conventional pre-plant soil disinfestation practices for the undisturbed growth of new crop seedlings

Imaflex Inc. ("Imaflex" or the "Corporation") (TSXV: IFX), announces positive interim results from a field trial assessing the efficacy of its next generation crop protection film, ADVASEAL^®, compared to commonly used fumigants. Independent analytical lab results of ADVASEAL samples collected at the trial site, in the three-week period following the film being laid on the ground, indicate that the active ingredients are being released into the soil in the desired manner. This is in line with the prerequisites for effective soil disinfestation, safe product use and pesticide registration relating to fruit and vegetable production. As originally announced on March 28, 2019, Imaflex has been working closely with an external party to coat the active ingredients on ADVASEAL. That company is FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc.   

Fumigants are volatile pesticides that are essential in reducing weeds and soil borne pathogen levels in the soil before planting (soil disinfestation), giving young crops a good start in a low pest zone environment. Currently, fumigants offer the greatest efficacy for soil disinfestation, but they also have the highest health and environmental risk due to their volatility, toxicity and required application rate of a few hundred pounds per acre. Imaflex's patent protected film, ADVASEAL, has been designed to replace this practice with an environmentally friendly, cost- and time-saving alternative that allows for the safe and precise application of pre-plant crop protection products, including an herbicide, nematicide and three fungicides. These five active ingredients are coated onto a mulch film and once applied to the ground they are released into the soil under controlled conditions. The current tested formulation for ADVASEAL equates to a total application rate of less than one pound per acre for all five active ingredients. This is well over 95% less fumigants than that required for soil disinfestation today.

The Efficacy Trial is being conducted by an independent research organization, well recognized by both the crop protection industry and regulatory agencies. The trial is evaluating ADVASEAL's ability to release its crop protection products into the soil and achieve soil disinfestation – prior to planting tomato seedlings – within the same three-week window currently required with standard fumigants for tomatoes. Concurrently, the trial is monitoring plant growth, yield and quality, compared to a crop grown under the current best Florida grower standard for fresh tomato production using fumigants. The tomato plant was chosen as a model crop, because it is the most widely grown vegetable in the world. Furthermore, if high yields can be achieved using ADVASEAL with tomato plants, it can likely be used to produce high yields for most other fruits and vegetables that require pre-plant soil disinfestation with fumigants. Full trial results, including plant growth, yield and quality for both the ADVASEAL test crop and grower reference will be released once the growing season is complete and the independent report is available.

"We are pleased to reach this key milestone, which moves us one step closer to the potential commercialization of ADVASEAL," highlighted Mr. Joe Abbandonato, President and Chief Executive Officer of Imaflex. "The positive results we are seeing renews our confidence in the tangible financial and environmental benefits we can potentially offer growers worldwide." The agriculture industry is facing an expanding list of challenges, including climatic changes, less resources to feed a growing world population, slowing yields due to disease, increased focus on sustainable farming, rising production costs and competitive pressures to name a few.  Consequently, growers are increasingly turning to other industries to help them do more with less.

"We worked closely with FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. on the development of the coating process for the active ingredient mixture, which allowed us to benefit from their expertise in high-speed coating technologies and functional film production," continued Mr. Abbandonato."Staffed with skilled chemists, process engineers and production technicians, Fujifilm has vast experience in bringing innovative products to market.  Their state-of-the-art U.S. manufacturing and research and development facility in South Carolina is also impressive, with over 2.5 million square feet of manufacturing space under roof." 

"Imaflex's expertise in advanced extrusion and innovative crop protection films is a natural fit with our extensive experience developing and commercializing new functional film products," said Mr. Todd Croker, President of FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. "Fujifilm has a longstanding commitment to protecting and preserving the environment, and we continually seek opportunities to collaborate with companies who share in this commitment."

Given the positive interim results, the Corporation intends to continue its pre-registration meetings with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will meet to discuss results and next steps for the timely registration of ADVASEAL as a new pesticide. This will include discussions on the design of a trial to determine the exact timing for the complete release of each active ingredient used with ADVASEAL. This is required to show compliance with the pre-harvest interval legally established by the EPA for each pesticide used, which is essentially the wait time between ADVASEAL's application on the soil and when a crop can first be harvested for safe human consumption.