Plant Impact Regulatory News (PIM)

28 Sep 2009 07:00



Plant Impact plc

("Plant Impact" or the "Company")

BugOil® - submission of USA product registration dossier 

Plant Impact plc (AIM: PIM), which develops and markets ecologically friendly crop nutrition and crop protection products, announces it has triggered the first regulatory milestone payment from its BugOil® licensing agreement with Arysta LifeScience Corporation ("Arysta"), a leading global agrochemical company.

This payment follows the submission of two applications to the US Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") for USA registration of BugOil®, the Company's benign insect control product, which is based on natural plant extracts. Plant Impact expects first sales of BugOil® in the USA in 2011, following completion of the data review and approval by the EPA.

On 1 June 2009, Plant Impact signed a worldwide Licence Agreement with Arysta to manufacture and sell BugOil® in all fields except the home and garden and animal health markets. According to independent market research based on 2007 sales figures, the global market value for the leading active substances used for controlling the pests addressed by BugOil® is estimated at more than US$1.9 billion.

Peter Blezard, CEO of Plant Impact, comments: "We have now submitted the data dossiers for BugOil® to both the European and USA authorities and await their reviews to allow commercialisation of this important product. Plant Impact and Arysta are working closely to ensure sales can start immediately after approvals are granted in these markets."

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About the product registration process

Submission of the dossiers is the requisite first step in a product registration process that enables Plant Impact and Arysta to sell and distribute BugOil® in the USA. The dossiers consist of a set of documents with comprehensive data on BugOil and its active ingredients, which will be reviewed by the EPA and lead to Federal approval, following which state registrations will be obtained allowing the sale of BugOil® for use on both food crops and also for ornamental use in the commercial and residential sector.

BugOil® will be registered as a biopesticide through the Biopesticide and Pollution Prevention Division of the EPA, due to the natural composition of the product, compared to standard synthetic insecticides.

About Plant Impact plc

Plant Impact develops and markets ecologically friendly crop nutrition and crop protection products. These products improve crop yields by reducing plant stresses caused by temperature, salinity, drought and light. The Company sells its products directly and through licensing agreements with international agrochemical companies. Plant Impact is differentiated from its competitors by marketing effective and environmentally friendly products.

Plant Impact has four key technologies marketed initially to the high value fruit and vegetable crop sectors; BugOil®, CaT, PiNTTM and SpeedoTM. The next two years will be dominated by CaT and PiNTTM sales to existing markets, and BugOil® milestone payments in advance of its international roll out through Arysta, a global top ten agrochemical company by revenue.

For further information please visit www.plantimpact.com

About BugOil®

BugOil® is a natural insect and mite control agent derived from essential plant oil technology that offers highly effective control in a non-toxic, environmentally friendly way. The pests targeted by BugOil® are mites, whitefly, thrips and aphids; these pests are some of the most damaging and most difficult to control as they reproduce quickly in mass numbers and can build resistance to conventional pest control agents. 

Independent field trials conducted on BugOil® have demonstrated that the product has pest control abilities at least equal to, if not better, than those of current industry-standard insecticides. BugOil® also provides broad-spectrum pest coverage, particularly for ornamentals such as cut flowers. All field trials were conducted to regulatory standard by independent third parties on high-value crops such as ornamentals, fruit and vegetables. To date, successful field trials have been conducted on BugOil® in the USA, UK, Europe and Africa.

BugOil® technology:

high level of efficacy equivalent to most current synthetic standards; 

based totally on natural plant extracts;

safe for many non-target organisms including mammals, fish, birds, and most beneficial insects (bees, earthworms, lacewings, ladybirds); and

non-toxic and environmentally friendly. 

About Arysta

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Arysta is the world's largest privately held crop protection and life science company with 2008 revenues of JPY134 billion (US$1.3 billion). An entrepreneurial provider of crop protection and life science products in more than 125 countries worldwide, Arysta specialises in marketing and distribution of respected crop protection brands and life science products in harmony with the needs of global partners. 

www.arystalifesciences.com

About the Environmental Protection Agency

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a government agency concerned with the environment and impacts on human health. It has a very wide ranging remit including accountability for the review and approval of pesticides used in agriculture.

www.epa.gov