March 1998, Volume 19 No. 1
- Editorial
- General News
- Biorational
- Company News
- Internet Round-Up
- Announcements
- Conference Reports
- Proceedings
- Forthcoming Meetings
A round-up of some relevant industrial developments. More detail on many others can be found in AgBiotech News and Information, published monthly by CAB INTERNATIONAL.
Agrisense-BCS (UK) received its second Queen's Award for Export Achievement in October (the first was given in 1990), and a few weeks later was named Trail Blazer Exporter of the Year at the 1997 Export Times `Exporter of the Year Awards' in London for its success in selling biological pest control abroad. The company exports 90% of its products to over 50 countries in the Middle East, western Europe, South Africa and Asia. Agrisense, formerly a subsidiary of Biosys Inc., was acquired by Thermo Trilogy Corporation in January 1997. The Corporation's acquisition of Novartis' Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) lines in October [see below] expanded Agrisense's product range and increased their turnover overnight from UK�million to � million. Agrisense anticipate that this new development will strengthen its position particularly in the European markets.
Wales-based Agrisense was established 12 years ago, as Biological Control Systems Ltd, by Owen Jones, University College Cardiff and Leiner Gelatins Ltd and by 1997 it had a turnover of � million and a staff of 80. It specializes in the research, development and manufacture of `environmentally friendly' products for detecting, monitoring and controlling insect pests. Recent projects include, in collaboration with Southampton University and Jeunique International (Los Angeles, USA), the development and marketing of a cockroach trap for the US market, and, in collaboration with various partners, the development of traps, some based on Beauveria bassiana, for nuisance Diptera.
Thermo Trilogy, the parent company of Agrisense, acquired all sprayable Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) biopesticide lines from Novartis in October 1997 in a deal worth around US$19 million. These include the Bt manufacturing facility in Wasco, California, Bt strains, and the rights to develop, manufacture and sell spray-on Bt for use in crop protection and public hygiene from Novartis AG, Novartis Crop Protection Inc. and Sandoz Agro Inc.
Mycogen has announced the restructuring of its biopesticide unit, with the write-down of the biopesticide production plant in Wisconsin built four years ago to manufacture Mycogen's encapsulated product range based on Bt proteins and fatty acids. Its capacity has been under-used, and the company is now concentrating on low-volume high-value markets for sprayable Bt, as it is becoming apparent that transgenic Bt-containing varieties are seen as the best way to deliver Bt toxins in large-scale crops such as maize and cotton.
EcoScience Corporation (New Jersey) announced a first annual profit of US$8000 for the 1997 fiscal year compared with a net loss in 1996 of $2,378,000, and also reported a 47% increase in product revenues to $20.9 million. EcoScience manufacture/market agricultural, fruit-packing and pest control products, including Bio-Blast�, a termiticide based on Metarhizium anisopliae, and BioSave�, a post-harvest biofungicide line based on Pseudomonas syringae currently marketed for apple, pear and citrus, but with products being developed for use in cherries and bananas [see BNI 18(1) ]. Although the first quarter's results for 1998 showed a downturn ($475,000 compared with $198,000 for the same period of the previous year), President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael de Giglio attributed this to seasonal effects on the post-harvest fruit and vegetable and biological insect control divisions, and delays in equipment completion dates, but that overall product sales objectives for 1998 should not be affected. EcoScience have also announced an intention to merge with Agro Power Development (New Jersey), which produces/markets organic fresh produce grown under intensive, controlled environment conditions, of which Michael DeGiglio is also CEO and a director.
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