Eden Regulatory News (EDEN)

26th September 2022

Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Eden granted US EPA regulatory approval

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-quoted company focused on sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free formulation technology for use in the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries, is pleased to announce that it has received regulatory approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for all five petitions submitted, covering the Company's three active ingredients (eugenol, geraniol and thymol) and two formulated products (Mevalone ® and Cedroz™).

The EPA approval of Eden's products and active ingredients will open significant revenue opportunities for Eden, with total market potential of approximately €94m for Mevalone and €189m for Cedroz. In addition, the Board expects that ultimately the registration of Eden's developmental insecticide will follow a shortened timeline as it is based upon the now-approved active ingredients. Eden will pursue registration of this new product in due course based upon the outcome of field trials. The total market potential for the insecticide is €237m.

Farmers in the US spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on products that protect their crops from diseases and pests that contribute to lost yields, food waste and inefficient production. Pesticides make up a large percentage of the overall spend on crop inputs. However, regulators around the world have banned a growing number of commonly used conventional chemical pesticide products in recent years, and farmers need viable alternatives to keep up with growing demand for food production. As a result, they are increasingly turning to biopesticides, like Eden's Cedroz and Mevalone, which are based on natural substances and offer a more sustainable approach, without compromising efficacy, safety, yield or production costs.

Coastal and southern states such as California and Florida will be the initial focus for the use of Eden's products given the prevalence of high value horticultural crops where Eden's products currently deliver the highest value. Marketing of the products will commence as soon as possible, subject to state level regulatory approval in these regions, which is expected in the coming months. Assuming timely state-level authorisations, meaningful sales are expected to commence in 2023 following the past several years during which preparations have been made for product launches.

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden Research plc, commented:

"Eden has been at the forefront of accelerating change in the sustainable agricultural input market for several years, and our authorisations in the US mark the next milestone in this journey, significantly expanding our addressable market to include the second largest food market in the world.

As a small but innovative UK business, we are proud of the impact that Eden can have on the global stage. Despite our size, we export our pioneering products and technologies to Europe, Africa, Australia, and North America, partnering with some of the largest global players in the crop protection industry.

The EPA authorisations are the result of over four years of effort by our experienced regulatory, development and commercial teams who worked tirelessly to ensure that Eden addressed the EPA's extensive and evolving list of strict requirements. 

We are among the very few British crop protection companies to receive approvals for multiple biopesticides in the US, and we believe we are the smallest company to achieve the ambitious goal of registering three active ingredients and two formulated products at once, thereby opening up one of the world's most important markets for agricultural inputs".

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Notes to Editors:

Eden Research is the only UK-listed company focused on biopesticides for sustainable agriculture. It develops and supplies innovative biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries. 

Eden's products are formulated with terpene active ingredients, based on natural plant defence metabolites. To date, they have been primarily used on high-value fruits and vegetables, improving crop yields and marketability, with equal or better performance when compared with conventional pesticides. Eden has two products currently on the market: 

Based on plant-derived active ingredients, Mevalone® is a foliar biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting grapes and other high-value fruit and vegetable crops.  It is a useful tool in crop defence programmes and is aligned with the requirements of integrated pest management programmes. It is approved for sale in a number of key countries whilst Eden and its partners pursue regulatory clearance in new territories thereby growing Eden's addressable market globally.

Cedroz™ is a bionematicide that targets free living nematodes which are parasitic worms that affect a wide range of high-value fruit and vegetable crops globally. Cedroz is registered for sale on two continents and Eden's commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical, is pursuing registration and commercialisation of this important new product in numerous countries globally.

Eden's Sustaine® encapsulation technology is used to harness the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic compounds to enhance their performance and ease-of-use. Sustaine microcapsules are naturally-derived, plastic-free, biodegradable micro-spheres derived from yeast. It is one of the only viable, proven and immediately registerable solutions to the microplastics problem in formulations requiring encapsulation.

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN. It was awarded the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark in January 2021, which recognises London-listed companies that derive over 50% of their total annual revenue from products and services that contribute to the global green economy. Eden derives 100% of its total annual revenues from sustainable products and services. 

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com .