September 15, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

“The impact of synthetic pesticides on the environment and human health is in the spotlight like never before, with customers and lawmakers alike demanding alternatives,” said Przemek Obloj, managing partner, Blue Horizon.

A shrinking base of arable farmland, tight supply of traditional agricultural inputs, a higher level of willingness by farmers to adopt new systems that can result in higher yields while being environmentally safe, and consumer sentiment calling for cleaner supply chains and less agrochemical usage have increasingly brought the biologicals category onto the radar of investors.

Reflecting this, Blue Horizon and Novalis LifeSciences have co-led an oversubscribed $116 million Series D for AgBiome, a leading developer of innovative products stemming from the Earth’s microbial sphere. 

With a mission to develop and deliver naturally derived crop protection products that meet consumer demands and drive more sustainable food production, AgBiome’s proprietary GENESIS™ discovery platform captures diverse, novel microbes for use in agricultural applications, screening them with industry-leading assays for insect, disease, and nematode control factors.

The company’s first product – Howler®, which has demonstrated 10X sales growth in 2020 – is a revolutionary fungicide that harnesses the power of the plant microbiome to combat more than 300 crop-disease combinations, by offering multiple modes of action resulting in long-lasting preventative activity on a broad spectrum of soil-borne and foliar diseases.

AgBiome also expects to launch its second product – Theia™ Fungicide – in early 2022, and has recently submitted its third –  Esendo™ Fungicide – for EPA registration.

From this beginning in biological fungicides, the company is planning to expand into insecticides and herbicides, for a total of 11 product launches by 2025.

“AgBiome provides that alternative: biological products that match the efficacy and cost of synthetic chemicals without the negatives,” said Obloj. “AgBiome helps realize Blue Horizon’s goal to accelerate the transition to a sustainable food system; we are thrilled to be able to support the Company and its experienced team.”

“Chemical pesticides are dominant today, but the fastest growing category of crop inputs is ‘biologicals’ and more specifically ‘biopesticides'”, noted Pam Marrone, founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations, in her article, Growing Innovation in Biologicals published in GAI News in May 2019. “These are becoming essential tools in the growers’ toolboxes by promoting plant health and controlling unwanted pests and diseases, which leads to better yields with reduced environmental impact – as well as improving grower profits.”

With such drivers, biologicals startups secured more than $180 million in financial backing in 2019- a five-fold increase compared to the year before, and biopesticide sales are expected to double to $10 billion per year by 2025, reports Bloomberg – a trend that AgBiome’s oversubscribed Series D demonstrates.

As part of its integrated approach to crop protection, AgBiome also partners with global ag companies to further accelerate innovation, production commercialization, and distribution, with multiple commercial agreements with Farm Hannong in South Korea, TMG in Brazil, Sumitomo Corp in Mexico, and SePro Corporation, along with research collaborations with BASF, Genective, Mosaic, Elanco, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Max Planck Institute, and ElevateBio.

“Biologicals are a rapidly growing, disruptive market segment that is projected to grow 14-fold by 2030,” said Scott Uknes, co-founder and co-CEO, AgBiome. “Growers need new tools to control problematic diseases while ensuring effective resistance management. AgBiome is laser focused on developing those science-based solutions.”

With the capital from this round, AgBiome stated it will rapidly expand its product portfolio, scale its scientific and commercial teams, and continue to work to build its global presence and partnerships.

Uknes commented, “With this capital, AgBiome is well positioned to execute on its strategic business model focused on developing proprietary products, fostering partner programs, joint ventures, and new company formations, all of which represent significant growth opportunities for AgBiome.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.