Appointment of Distribution Partner in Kenya

Eden Biosolutions

24/03/2025 07:00

RNS Number : 7431B

Eden Research plc

24 March 2025

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

24 March 2025

 

 

Eden Research plc

("Eden" or "the Company")

 

 

Appointment of Distribution Partner in Kenya

 

 

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), a leader in sustainable biopesticide and biocontrol technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Andermatt Kenya Limited ("Andermatt") as the Company's exclusive distribution partner for Mevalone® in Kenya. Mevalone is Eden's flagship biofungicide developed to prevent and treat outbreaks of fungal pathogens on high-value crops, initially targeting Botrytis cinerea, but with an ever-widening list of disease targets. Mevalone is formulated using Eden's proprietary natural terpene chemistry and yeast-based microencapsulation technology.

 

The appointment of Andermatt is a result of the Company's commercial drive to increase sales of Mevalone in Kenya, where it already has regulatory approval. With a diverse agricultural sector producing a vast array of high-value fruits, vegetables, and ornamental crops, Kenya represents a significant opportunity for Mevalone to be applied to a multitude of crops.  The Company already has regulatory approval for several of these uses in place and intends to apply to broaden the label, ultimately further enlarging the addressable market.

 

Food items and agricultural raw materials constitute over half of Kenya's exports, with exports of fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers generating earnings of approximately $2.7 billion in 2022. Cut flowers made up approximately 8% of Kenya's exports in 2023.  Moreover, the Horn of Africa has unpredictable weather conditions, and during times of unseasonably high rainfall, outbreaks of fungal diseases such as Botrytis cinerea are regular occurrences.

 

Andermatt Kenya, a subsidiary of the Swiss-based Andermatt Group, a global group of companies specialising in biological crop production, home and garden and bee health, has an extensive network across Kenya and has specialist expertise in working directly with local farmers to adopt sustainable and effective crop protection solutions to enhance their crop yields and protect soil health.

 

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden Research, commented:

 

"Strengthening our commercial performance in key territories such as Kenya is a fundamental driver of growth this year and beyond. The appointment of Andermatt better places us to seize the vast number of opportunities across Kenya's c.6 million hectares of arable farmland. Andermatt has a formidable track record across Africa and a strong reputation for helping to improve local farming practices with best-in-class crop protection products.

 

"Cut flowers are a particularly lucrative segment of the Kenyan market and is one such area that the Andermatt team is keen to prioritise and work closely with us on. With Mevalone's authorisation already in place for cut flowers and a range of other crop uses, we are keen to hit the ground running as soon as possible with a view to generating meaningful sales in the near term."

 

Hamish Ker, CEO of Andermatt Kenya, commented:

 

"The addition of Mevalone fills an important gap in our portfolio of biocontrol products. We now have access to one of the most innovative products in the biopesticide industry to help our farmers overcome their challenges with Botrytis. Eden has proven the product is not only as effective as its competitor products, but it also provides outstanding sustainability benefits and flexibility with respect to maximum residue limits. These are valuable traits for our growers who have needed to contend with increasingly stricter import requirements from the EU and other Western countries, as well as preserving the health of their soil and the environment for future growth cycles."

 

-- ENDS --

 

 

For further information contact:

 

Eden Research plc
Sean Smith
 Alex Abrey
www.edenresearch.com
01285 359 555
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited
 (Nominated advisor and joint broker)
Giles Balleny / George Lawson (corporate finance)
 Charlie Combe (corporate broking)
 Michael Johnson (sales)
020 7220 0500
Oberon Capital (Joint broker)
Nick Lovering
Mike Seabrook
Adam Pollock
020 3179 5300
Hawthorn Advisors (Financial PR)
Victoria Ainsworth
eden@hawthornadvisors.com

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Eden Research is the only UK-listed company focused on biopesticides for sustainable agriculture. It develops and supplies innovative biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries.

 

Eden's products are formulated with terpene active ingredients, based on natural plant defence metabolites. To date, they have been primarily used on high-value fruits and vegetables, improving crop yields and marketability, with equal or better performance when compared with conventional pesticides. Eden has three products currently on the market:

 

Based on plant-derived active ingredients, Mevalone® is a foliar biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting grapes and other high-value fruit and vegetable crops.  It is a useful tool in crop defence programmes and is aligned with the requirements of integrated pest management programmes. It is approved for sale in a number of key countries whilst Eden and its partners pursue regulatory clearance in new territories thereby growing Eden's addressable market globally.

 

Novellus®+ is an evolution of Mevalone, allowing improved rates in the field, high levels of efficacy and a broader list of targets.

 

Cedroz™ is a bionematicide that targets free living nematodes which are parasitic worms that affect a wide range of high-value fruit and vegetable crops globally.  Cedroz is registered for sale on two continents and Eden's commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical, is pursuing registration and commercialisation of this important new product in numerous countries globally.

 

Eden's seed treatment product, Ecovelex™ was developed to safely tackle crop destruction caused by birds - a major cause of losses in maize and other crops. Ecovelex works by creating an unpleasant taste or odour that repels birds, leaving the seeds safely intact and the birds unaffected and free to find alternative food sources. The product is based on Eden's plant-derived chemistry, registered in the EU, US and elsewhere, and formulated using Eden's Sustaine® microencapsulation system.

 

Eden's Sustaine® encapsulation technology is used to harness the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic compounds to enhance their performance and ease of use. Sustaine microcapsules are naturally-derived, plastic-free, biodegradable micro-spheres derived from yeast. It is one of the only viable, proven and immediately registerable solutions to the microplastics problem in formulations requiring encapsulation.

 

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN. It was awarded the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark in January 2021, which recognises London-listed companies that derive over 50% of their total annual revenue from products and services that contribute to the global green economy. Eden derives 100% of its total annual revenues from sustainable products and services.

 

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com. You can also follow Eden's latest developments via its social media channels: X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

 

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