BVT successfully completes Phase 2 evaluations of biological products for in-licensing and revenue extension

Date:09-22-2020

Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE: BEE) (the "Company" or "BVT") announced on Monday that it has reached another important milestone in its ability to unlock new revenue streams through third-party product in-licensing, having successfully concluded Phase 2 evaluations. Following Phase 1 testing of six products, the Company completed a Phase 2 proof-of-concept field trial with two biological insecticides in North America. Field trials in Europe with a third biological insecticide, in addition to a biological fungicide are in progress and are expected to be completed by late fall.

The objective for these initial field trials is to confirm successful delivery of the products to crops of interest through BVT's natural precision agriculture dispensing systems and to assess initial product efficacy. In the North American trial, the biological insecticides were found to be present in the flower tissue following application, confirming that microorganisms were successfully delivered and subsequently colonized the crop through the BVT system. Furthermore, a reduction in the population of crop damaging plant bugs was observed in the crop during the course of the season - establishing the biological efficacy of these systems for managing pest pressure.

"With the positive completion of Phase 2, BVT is a step closer to in-licensing agreements with third parties and unlocking multiple new revenue streams. The products under evaluation are already commercially available and registered in the US or the EU, which means we can get to revenue faster without completing some of the registration requirements that can be time consuming and costly," said Ashish Malik, CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies. "Environmentally responsible pest and disease management, in-hand with improving crop yields, are critical challenges for growers. Hence, the more biological products we can incorporate through our proprietary delivery system the broader the market acceptance and adoption, which will in turn create higher revenue potential for BVT."

These successful results from Phase 2 mean the Company can now begin discussions on contractual arrangements. "In Phase 3, we will be collaborating closer with our new partners to develop the framework for an agreement and to plan for larger scale field trials in 2021," continued Mr. Malik. "We will also be conducting Phase 1 lab trials on additional product candidates - our goal is to have a constant funnel of opportunities for evaluation so we can continuously feed product line extensions to the market over time."

Extending BVT's product line through in-licensing of third-party products is one of the key innovation projects for the Company, enabling it to increase the addressable portion of the US$240 billion⁽¹⁾ crop protection and fertilizer global market. The Company estimates the worldwide market opportunity for in-licensed products to be US$5 billion⁽²⁾ while BVT's addressable portion for each product will be based on its spectrum of control and the geographic scope of the contractual terms with each third-party partner. The initial products being evaluated by the Company are biological insecticides that can be used together with (called "stacking" two or more microbes together) or separately from BVT's proprietary Clonostachys rosea strain CR-7 resulting in an increased market value of the Company's system to growers and biological fungicides that are already registered in numerous countries. Products that successfully complete all five phases of in-licensing evaluation have the potential to deliver additional revenue and extend BVT's reach geographically and into new crops.

In Phase 1, products are lab-tested for compatibility with BVT's system and beneficial microbe CR-7, and to evaluate if bees can carry the product as they forage. Shortlisted products continue to Phase 2 proof-of-concept field trials to evaluate if the product is delivered successfully to the crop, and for an initial efficacy assessment of the system to control the target pests or diseases.

Phase 3 will have BVT working with partner companies on market and business refinement, including formulating the basis of a potential agreement. Phase 4 will move to large-scale field efficacy trials and could include some bee safety confirmation work; and Phase 5 will involve regulatory work to add bee vectoring as a use to each third-party product label, if needed. After that, BVT will launch the new product line extensions to growers -potentially starting as early as in 2022.

⁽¹⁾ Source: Flueckiger C. Chemical pesticide use will be drastically reduced in the long term. www.FlueckigerConsulting.com.

⁽²⁾ Source: Company estimates derived from market knowledge of use of fungicides and insecticides to control pests and diseases associated to crop flowering time.