Resistance Management

This company constantly is finding new products from the microorganisms that are collected from a variety of samples from unique niches and habitats such as flowers, bark, and insects. Collecting these samples is the beginning of the journey from discovery to a commercial marketed resistance management product. When you step outside and look around, it is very likely that you will find these microorganisms everywhere, including under your feet, in a flower bed, or even on leaves. But an experienced collector of pesticidal microorganisms would see that there are some places and sources that are better suited for finding these little bugs.

They screen these naturally occurring microorganisms to identify the ones that may have an effective pest resistance management characteristic. Then they use natural product chemistry to analyze the compound structures that are produced by the selected microorganisms, to ensure that there are no toxins, and to identify possible candidates for further development, testing and marketing for commercial use. Through a lengthy and well monitored process which includes lab and field testing, fermentation development and product formulation they can develop them into resistance management products in approximately three years and for approximately $3 million, compared to other chemical pesticides, that take at least $180 million and sometimes as long as ten years to discover, develop and commercialize.

All of this company's products require proper EPA approval which includes a variety of toxicological testing against some non-target organisms in order to prove their safety for commercial use. The approval period for these resistance management products is 12 months for ornamentals and turf (meaning non-food crops) and 18 months for food crops. These regulations are governed by the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA). This natural approach to product discovery is well accepted. Drug companies have been finding and commercializing new drugs derived from a variety of natural sources like plants and microorganisms, to formulate products such as antibiotics like penicillin, taxol from the Pacific Yew for cancer treatment, and even aspirin from a similar compound found in willow bark. Only about 11% of pesticidal resistance management products are derived from natural sources. Some examples include spinosad insecticide (Dow) and avermectin miticide (Syngenta), Bacillus thuringiensis insecticides (Valent Bioscience and Certis USA), and Bacillus subtilis and B. Marrone BioInnovations welcomes collaborations with academic labs, as well as other labs and companies. They will even purchase/license microorganisms that you have in your collections that might be useful for pesticidal resistance management applications