Appointment of Commercial Director

12 June 2019

Eden Research plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Appointment of Commercial Director

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, is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert ("Rob") Cannings to the new role of Commercial Director, with effect from 12 June 2019. 

For the last ten years, Rob has worked in an entrepreneurial environment at the cutting edge of the agricultural biologicals industry and, prior to that, in key positions with mainstream conventional agrochemicals. With this extensive knowledge, Rob has been effective in developing strategies and market positioning for new conventional and biological products and using this to prioritise the development and commercialisation of new crop protection products globally.

Rob has been Global Product Manager for Chemtura, AgraQuest, and Bayer CropScience where he created global growth and pricing strategies for conventional and biological products and where he was instrumental in the sale of AgraQuest to Bayer for more than $425m. Most recently, Rob served as Commercial Director at Plant Health Care with responsibility for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, said: "We are pleased to welcome Rob to the team at Eden. Rob's detailed understanding of the conventional pesticide and biocontrol products markets globally will be a key asset for the company as it works towards delivering on its ambitious growth plans. His hands-on experience with the entire process from research and development through to product commercialisation, marketing and sales, will be invaluable to Eden as we accelerate our growth plans by expanding our regulatory and commercial footprint.

Rob's appointment is considered a key hire within the Company's previously announced plans to grow its in-house capabilities through the recruitment of high-calibre staff with relevant experience and track records of demonstrable success."

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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 product 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, Mevalone, 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.

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

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.