REG - Eden Research plc - Ecovelex Partnership with Royal Holloway

Eden ResearchAnnouncement

16/06/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 8710M  Eden Research plc  16 June 2025

16 June 2025

 

 

Eden Research plc

("Eden" or "the Company")

 

 

Ecovelex Partnership with Royal Holloway

 

 

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), a leader in sustainable biopesticide and
biocontrol technology, is pleased to announce that it has formed a strategic
partnership with Royal Holloway, University of London ("RHUL" or "Royal
Holloway"). The partnership has been formed under Innovate UK's Knowledge
Transfer Partnership ("KTP") scheme and will seek to expand the development of
Eden's flagship seed treatment product to include new cereal and vegetable
seeds. The KTP, funded 67% by Innovate UK and the remaining 33% by Eden,
represents a new development programme with the addition of specialist
academic expertise, facilities access and a KTP associate. Such programmes
represent excellent value for Eden and its shareholders as the Company's
investment is leveraged with non-dilutive funding provided by Innovate UK. A
typical KTP project delivers a package of support valued at around £80,000 to
£100,000 per year, including project consumables, the associate's salary,
training and development, and travel and subsistence.

 

Eden's team will benefit from the extensive knowledge of Dr Tina Steinbrecher
and Professor Gerhard Leubner of RHUL's Plant Biochemistry faculty and a new
seed research scientist who will join Eden's R&D team with immediate
effect. The Company will also have access via Dr Tina Steinbrecher and
Professor Gerhard Leubner to RHUL's laboratories, widely regarded as one of
the industry's leading research facilities in the fields of seed biology and
technology. As part of the agreement, Dr Tina Steinbrecher and Professor
Gerhard Leubner's involvement with the project will be overseen by the
Company's Lead Biology Research Scientist, Dr James Hourston. As a RHUL
alumnus and a former employee of the RHUL seed research team, James's
connection with his RHUL counterparts marks a continuation of their
partnership and will allow for seamless introduction to the seed treatment
development project.

 

Eden's first seed treatment is currently used as a treatment for maize seeds.
It has been approved under temporary authorisations over the past two years in
Italy and is under review for its full authorised use across the EU. The
treatment serves as a repellent against bird infestation by emitting an
unpleasant odour for birds and encouraging them to find alternative food
sources in the wild. This leaves the seed intact, giving the plant the best
chance of growth and protecting a farmer's crop yield. This seed treatment
represents a superior, sustainable alternative to other seed treatments
available on the market, with its naturally occurring, plant-based natural
ingredients.

 

The potential addition of new cereal and vegetable oil seeds would represent a
significant growth opportunity for Eden, particularly as the Company looks to
expand its presence into new, large markets via its seed treatment product.

 

Sean Smith, CEO of Eden Research, commented:

 

"Our new partnership with Royal Holloway represents the start of an exciting
opportunity to expand the use of our seed treatment beyond maize into new
cereals and grains. The KTP scheme is a fantastic initiative which has allowed
us to expand and accelerate product development, with the backing of Innovate
UK, and bring in the expertise of the brightest minds in seed applied science
and technology.

 

"The importance and value that Dr Tina Steinbrecher and Professor Gerhard
Leubner will bring to the project cannot be understated. I look forward to
working alongside them both, transferring their knowledge to our sustainable
seed treatment development efforts in a bid to deliver an eco-friendly
solution to farmers to help protect their farms from damaging infestations
across a wider range of crop and bird species."

 

Professor Gerhard Leubner and Dr Tina Steinbrecher of Royal Holloway,
University of London, jointly added:

 

"We are delighted to combine Royal Holloway's long-standing expertise in seed
science with Eden's sustainable technology to develop a novel,
environmentally friendly seed coating, delivering better, greener solutions
for farmers.

 

"Royal Holloway's seed science team, led by Dr Steinbrecher and Prof Leubner,
is excited to begin this KTP journey, drawing on our complementary
strengths to work with a broad range of distinct crop seeds and explore how
innovation in seed technology can support more sustainable and resilient
agriculture".

 

-- ENDS --

 

 Eden Research plc                                                 www.edenresearch.com (http://www.edenresearch.com/)
 Sean Smith                                                        01285 359 555

Alex Abrey

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated advisor and broker)
 Giles Balleny / George Lawson (Corporate Finance)                 020 7397 8900

 Harriet Ward (Broking)

Michael Johnson (Sales)

 Hawthorn Advisors (Financial PR)
 Victoria Ainsworth                                                eden@hawthornadvisors.com (mailto: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, U.S. 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
(http://www.edenresearch.com/) . You can also follow Eden's latest
developments via its social media channels: X (Twitter)
(https://twitter.com/edenresearch)  and LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/eden-research-plc/) .

 

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