Novozymes, Syngenta Reach Distribution Agreement

Novozymes, a bioinnovation company with a major plant in Roanoke, and Syngenta, one of the world’s leading agricultural companies, today announced an exclusive global marketing and distribution agreement on the microbial-based biofungicide Taegro, a natural solution with multiple modes of action used to combat fungal diseases across various crops.

The companies will join forces to bring Novozymes’ Taegro to farmers worldwide through Syngenta’s global organization. “This collaboration matches Syngenta’s global market strength and leading position within fungicides and integrated solutions with Novozymes’ deep know-how on sustainable, biobased technologies,” says Thomas Videbæk, Executive Vice President of Novozymes.

“Using technology developed by Novozymes, Syngenta will provide farmers all over the world with a biological product to help sustainably combat fungal diseases in a powerful manner.”

“We're delighted to enter into another agreement to commercialize a Novozymes technology. Having worldwide commercial rights for Taegro will further strengthen our ability to offer high-performing integrated crop solutions,” comments John Atkin, Chief Operating Officer of Syngenta.

Taegro offers a biological solution in the form of a microbial-based fungicide, based on the naturally occurring Bacillus subtilis bacterium, which is complementary to existing fungicide technology. It effectively targets fungal diseases such as Rhizoctonia and Fusarium on fruit and vegetables, and its application is expected to be expanded to a wider portfolio of broad-acre crops such as wheat, soy and corn. Under the terms of the agreement,

Novozymes and Syngenta will share the task of bringing Taegro to market. Syngenta will be responsible for sales, marketing and distribution, while Novozymes will be responsible for production and registration. Trials are planned to secure data to continue to build on the current U.S. registration in other regions, following which the two companies aim for a global rollout. Financial details about the agreement are not being disclosed.