The collaboration will accelerate the ongoing development of natural weed control products based on short protein molecules naturally produced by plant cells. In the partnership, which is covered by a special multi-year agreement; The focus will be on developing new solutions to control weeds resistant to major herbicides in corn and soybeans. Companies will combine their own R&D capabilities, leveraging Micropep's technology to accelerate and improve the success rate in identifying innovative biological herbicides.
FMC Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. “We are pleased to collaborate with Micropep in developing new micropeptide technology to address resistance management,” said Kathleen Shelton. Saying that this new mode of action in agriculture represents an exciting new frontier in biomolecules, Shelton adds that this is a completely new solution compared to what is available to growers and a biological portfolio that works in combination with synthetics.
The market size of synthetic herbicides in 2021 is over $26 billion. Today, there are significant market opportunities for bioherbicides that provide effective weed control while minimizing the impact on the environment. This collaboration advances the development of Micropep's micropeptide line that exhibits activity on resistant weeds and pathogens that threaten major crops worldwide. To address agriculture's most pressing challenges, FMC invests in the discovery and development of new forms of action and continues to build a comprehensive partner ecosystem to accelerate the pace of crop protection innovation.
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“Micropep develops next-generation natural solutions that address global challenges across multiple markets in a key focus area of agriculture. With climate change affecting how farmers produce, they urgently need new sustainable solutions to protect crops,” said Thomas Laurent, Founder and CEO of Micropep, FMC. Laurent added that they are working to develop an effective selective natural herbicide in the control of resistant weeds by combining the strong scientific and commercial capabilities of FMC with the proprietary AI-powered micropeptide discovery platform.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.