Provivi works with Lanxess to scale up production of insect pheromone

Date:05-30-2022

Provivi,^® Inc., a leading provider of crop protection solutions using pheromone technology as the foundation of an integrated and sustainable pest management system, has reported an update on its global production for Pheron™ E7-E/Z9-12Ac, the active ingredient targeting Lobesia botrana, also known as the European grapevine moth. 

Last year, the French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) granted regulatory approval for Provivi insect pheromone product Pheron™ E7-E/Z9-12Ac, produced via an innovative and patent-pending process. In response to high demand, production was notably scaled up to tens of metric tons in volume at the German facility of LANXESS's Saltigo business unit. Saltigo is a leading custom manufacturer for the crop protection industry. 

Provivi Inc. has now signed a contract with LANXESS Corporation for another production campaign of the insect pheromone, Pheron™ E7-E/Z9-12Ac, which will be manufactured by Saltigo. Provivi worked closely with LANXESS and Saltigo personnel to complete the production process's technical transfer, optimization, and scale-up. 

"We are excited about this collaboration's accelerated growth," said Bill Evanko, Provivi VP of Engineering. "Saltigo's talented group of chemists, engineers, and operations personnel produced Pheron™ E7-E/Z9-12Ac to meet Provivi's stringent EU registration specifications. We want to thank everyone involved from LANXESS for the successful project and results that they have delivered." 

"The Lobesia pheromone is an important product in our active ingredient portfolio, which is why the 2021 campaign was specifically critical," said Sanaz Imani, Provivi Director of Supply Chain and Procurement Operations. "We are pleased about the partnership with Saltigo from a technical perspective and look forward to continuing to work together in making this product a true commercial success." 

"We expect pheromones to play an important role in future crop protection, and we are proud to produce the active ingredient for a pioneer in that field," said Christoph Schaffrath, Saltigo Head of Marketing and Sales. "The metathesis route developed by Provivi is an innovative technology to make those molecules efficiently available at scale." 

The development of low-cost pheromones allows Provivi to simultaneously target key pests in row crops and tree fruits, nuts, and vine (TNV), to which Lobesia botrana belongs. The active ingredients Provivi is producing have led to a reduction in crop damage resulting in a reduction in the use of pesticides for the final consumer product.