Eden Regulatory News (EDEN)

17 September 2020

Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

New authorisations for Cedroz™ and Mevalone®

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, announces that its commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical Company ("Eastman"), has received authorisation for the sale of Cedroz™ in France. The French regulator has also approved Eden's biofungicide, Mevalone®, for use in organic agriculture in France. Separately, Eden has been notified that Mevalone® has received authorisation for use on table and wine grapes in Serbia via regional distributor K&N Efthymiadis ('KNE').

The approval of Cedroz in France covers both indoor and outdoor uses on strawberries, tomatoes, aubergines, physalis, pepinos, cucumbers, courgettes, gherkins (and other edible peel cucurbits), peppers (all varieties), chillies, melons, watermelons, and pumpkins (and other non-edible peel cucurbits). Cedroz is a bionematicide based on terpene active ingredients encapsulated in Eden's patented Sustaine® technology. Both of Eden's commercially available products have now been authorised in France, following the approval for the use of Mevalone on grapes in 2017.

The combined fruit, vegetable and horticultural sector in France has an annual output of over €8 billion, excluding potatoes and wine grapes, highlighting the significance of the market for Eden. Melons, which are included in this approval, are the second most plentiful fruit in the country with 250,000 tonnes grown each year.

The demand for Cedroz stems from it being residue-free with a zero-day pre-harvest interval, which allows for applications right up to harvest. These characteristics, combined with regulatory changes that have limited the availability of traditional nematicides, position Cedroz well for inclusion in French growers' crop protection programmes, helping them to meet consumer demand for quality produce, free from chemical residues.

The organic approval of Mevalone is timely as the French organic farming industry is on the rise, increasing from around 580,000 hectares in 2008 to over 2 million hectares in 2018. Now that Mevalone can be used on organic farms it increases the addressable market for the product. Eden's three EU-registered active ingredients, geraniol, eugenol and thymol, received approval for use in organic farming in the EU in January of this year. There is an opportunity for additional growth in other EU countries when organic approval for Cedroz and Mevalone as full formulations is granted. The EU has recently proposed that at least 25% of the EU's agricultural land should be farmed organically, and the action plan supporting this change has now reached the public consultation phase.

Eden has also received authorisation for the sale of Mevalone in Serbia via regional distributor K&N Efthymiadis. Serbia has a growing winemaking industry, with the export value of wine and grape based spirits doubling to €17 million between 2006 and 2017. Serbia becomes the 13th country to authorise Mevalone, which already includes the top 3 wine producing countries in the world; Italy, France and Spain.

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, commented: "We are pleased to see Cedroz reach another key European market. In France, our biofungicide, Mevalone, has been used by French grape growers to integrate more sustainable practices into their crop protection programmes and Cedroz will play a similar role for a wider range of fruit and vegetable growers in the market. Cedroz has strong momentum with this being its fourth full authorisation in 2020, supporting growers' increasing need for environmentally friendly products that protect against nematode infestation. We look forward to continuing to work with our commercial collaborators as they make progress with marketing and selling our products to drive our ambitions to be a leader in sustainable and organic crop protection."

The information contained herein is not expected to have a significant impact on management's expectations of performance for the year.

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Notes:

Eden Research is an AIM quoted company that develops and supplies breakthrough biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries

Eden's Sustaine® encapsulation technology harnesses the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can 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 extract. They produce stabilised aqueous suspensions which, are easy to mix and apply, have phased release patterns, are safer for the environment and the crops themselves.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed an EU-wide restriction on the placing on the market or use of "intentionally-added" microplastic particles. The proposed restriction includes the use of microplastics for agricultural and horticultural purposes, including polymers utilized for controlled-release fertilizers, encapsulated plant protection products (PPPs), seed coatings, and biocides.

By 2025 in the EU, pesticides containing synthetic polymer microplastics are likely to be banned and removed from the market. The only acceptable alternative is the substitution with biodegradable formulations. Reformulated products will need to be evaluated and registered within the five-year transition period.

Sustaine is one of the only viable, proven and immediately registerable solutions to the microplastics problem in formulations requiring encapsulation.

Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor solubility. Sustaine provides a unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk agrochemicals.

Eden is developing these technologies through innovative research and a series of commercial production, marketing and distribution partnerships.

The Company has a number of patents and a pipeline of products at differing stages of development targeting specific areas of the global agrochemicals industry. To date, the Company has invested in the region of 14m in developing and protecting its intellectual property and seeking regulatory approval for products that rely upon the Company's technologies. Revenues earned by the Company have been modest whilst the Company has concentrated on securing patent protection for its intellectual property, gaining regulatory approvals, identifying suitable industrial partners, and entering into commercial agreements. 

In May 2013, the three actives that comprise Eden's first commercial product, Mevalone, were approved as new ingredients for use in plant protection products by the European Commission ("EC"). This represented a major milestone in the commercialisation of Eden's technology and is a significant accomplishment for any company. To illustrate this point, one should note that in 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.

Mevalone® is a foliar biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting grapes and other high-value fruit and vegetable crops. 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. Eden's commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical, is pursuing registration and commercialisation of this important new product in numerous countries globally.

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN.