Eden Research Regulatory News (EDEN)

14 June 2018

Eden Research plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Regulatory progress update

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM listed company that develops and supplies breakthrough biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries, announces that the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has commenced its scientific review of Eden's two formulated products and three active ingredients as pesticides for use in the United States. The scientific reviews are expected to be complete before the end of 2019.

Eden's applications cover its first two products and their respective active ingredients: Mevalone™, Eden's fungicide for the treatment of botrytis on grapes and a range of other crops, and Cedroz™, a nematicide product for farmers that controls a wide range of economically important nematodes and that is being commercialised in 29 countries by Eden's partner Eastman.

Mevalone is currently approved in ten countries, including the top three wine producing countries in the world. The United States ("US") is the fourth largest wine producing country and the third largest vine fungicide market in the world behind Italy and France. Mevalone is marketed under several trade names by Eden's partners SumiAgro (France), Sipcam (Italy and Spain), Efthymidis (Greece, Portugal and the Balkans) and Lachlan (Kenya). Discussions are currently underway regarding the appointment of appropriate distribution partners for Mevalone in the US.

Cedroz is an innovative formulation based on specific nature-identical terpenes and an encapsulation technology which was developed and patented by Eden Research plc ("Eden"). Eastman is Eden's exclusive partner for the development and distribution of this product in more than 25 key countries around the world. The favourable toxicological regulatory profile of Cedroz will provide a high level of flexibility on the timing of application for farmers and comfort for workers. In all regulatory trials completed, no terpene residues were found in the crops at harvest.

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, said: "Following the successful execution of partnership agreements with Eastman and Sipcam over the past eighteen months and the successful fund raising associated with Sipcam's investment in Eden, we are now actively pursuing the expansion of our portfolio of regulatory approvals in order to fully realise the value of our technology and products. This is integral to our commercial success given the importance of these approvals to the commercialisation of crop protection products." 

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Notes:

Eden Research is a technology development and commercialisation company with intellectual property and expertise in encapsulation, terpenes and environmentally friendly technologies to provide naturally occurring solutions for the global agrochemicals, animal health, and consumer products industries.

Eden's encapsulation technology harnesses 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. The technology uses yeast cells that are a by-product of numerous commercial production processes to deliver a slow release of natural compounds for agricultural and non-agricultural uses. Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor solubility. Eden's platform encapsulation technology 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 £13m 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, 3AEY, were approved as new ingredients for use in plant protection products. 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 all of 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.

3AEY has been authorised for sale in Kenya, Malta, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, France, Cyprus, Albania and Portugal.

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

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

Eastman is a global advanced materials and specialty additives company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day.

With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables.

Eastman focuses on creating consistent, superior value for all stakeholders.

As a globally diverse company, Eastman serves customers in more than 100 countries and had 2016 revenues of approximately $9.0 billion.

The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA and employs approximately 14,000 people around the world.

For more information, please visit: www.eastman.com.