Plant Health Care upbeat about future of its Innatus 3G product

Novel patent-protected biological agriculture products provider Plant Health Care updated the market on its ‘new technology’ business on Tuesday, confirming a fifth major agricultural/seed company had now signed an agreement to evaluate its ‘Innatus 3G’ product.

The AIM-traded company said that meant all five of the top agricultural and seed corporations were now testing Innatus 3G in the field.

Four of these companies had now started field trials of Innatus 3G in Brazil for the control of Asian soybean rust (ASR), which the board described as a “devastating disease” of soybeans.

Plant Health Care said its lead peptide for control of ASR was PHC279, which was now being produced by high yield fermentation at pilot scale.

Exclusive rights to Innatus 3G for use in South American soybeans was expected to be auctioned in mid-2018, before the start of the 2018/19 growing season.

The company said it has decided to focus its new technology resources on delivering successful auctions in 2018.

Closing a licensing event in 2017 had been de-prioritised to focus on the larger 2018 goals, it explained.

“It is a great landmark to have all the industry majors signed up to work with Innatus 3G,” said executive chairman and interim CEO Chris Richards.

“With the very large resources they can bring to bear, backed up by our own field trials work with EMBRAPA and others, we are confident that the field trials now started will generate the data our partners need to evaluate the platform.

“If Innatus 3G lives up to its promise of fighting disease resistance, we can be confident of a successful auction of rights to South American soybeans in 2018.”