Advanced natural crop protection solutions

Added on 13 August 2020

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Advanced natural crop protection solutions

MustGrow Biologics Corp. (the "Company", "MustGrow"), an agricultural biotech company developing and commercializing a portfolio of natural, science-based biological crop protection products, is pleased to provide a corporate update for its stakeholders. For MustGrow, 2020 has been an execution story which includes key achievements for patents, crop protection and international expansion. Chief Executive Officer Corey Giasson outlines its industry landscape, recent achievements, and near-term catalysts. The agricultural industry and investment capital flow is transitioning towards sustainable, natural, biological, and environmentally friendly farming practices. With an evolving regulatory backdrop seemingly tailor-made to develop organic bio-pesticides and bio-herbicides, MustGrow is poised to capitalize in 2020.

2020 Achievements

In January, MustGrow announced the filing of key patents related to a biological non-selective bio-herbicide, a timely development, as market-leading herbicides face scrutinous legal and regulatory challenges. A series of application rate tests with Canada's National Research Council determined the applicability of MustGrow's natural mustard-derived technology as a bio-herbicide. Using multiple application methods, herbicidal control was achieved after only 72 hours - controlling the trial plants from the root up.

In May, exciting results were announced: MustGrow confirmed 100% control of Clubroot spores in 24-hours, utilizing MustGrow's signature mustard-derived liquid bio-pesticide. Of significance, the low application rate used in testing has the potential to be economic for canola growers. Clubroot is a rapidly spreading disease pathogen destroying canola, one of Canada's more profitable crops. Once a field is infested, there are no chemical control measures currently available that can eradicate Clubroot, with some field infections leading to 100% crop loss.

In June, MustGrow commenced a tobacco crop protection research program funded by the Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation to target nematodes. Nematodes are parasitic worms that infect a tobacco plant's root system with estimated annual damage of US$4.2 billion, or 15% of the global tobacco crop.

Also in June, MustGrow announced the successful importation of its bio-pesticide into Colombia to tackle the Panama Disease (Fusarium wilt TR4), a devastating disease pathogen ravaging the $25 billion global banana industry. Panama Disease is among the most destructive banana diseases, affecting particularly Cavendish bananas (half of all bananas produced). Currently, there are no effective treatments for infected banana plantations, with the disease remaining viable for decades in the soil and can cause 100% yield loss. MustGrow's bio-pesticide has shown to have 100% control strains of Fusarium and has great potential to do the same with Fusarium wilt TR4.

Potential Third Quarter Catalysts

	Bananas in Colombia: Highly anticipated initial data on the Panama Disease. South American governments and global agricultural companies have been following MustGrow's progress closely, since no chemical or biological pesticides have been able to effectively control Panama Disease.
	Non-selective bio-herbicide development progress.
	Further Canola Clubroot testing; data from greenhouse facility trials.
	Tobacco nematode test results.
	EPA regulatory process update for fruits & vegetables registration.
	Regulatory and business case analysis to continue expansion into new global geographies.
	New crop and food disease targets.
	Increasing investor engagement through investor & industry conferences and virtual roadshows.

MustGrow continues to execute on its vision to develop safe and effective biological crop protection bio-pesticides and bio-herbicides to displace potentially harmful synthetic chemicals. With ~$2.8 million cash in treasury, MustGrow is well-funded to execute current priorities. COVID-19 has not had any meaningful impact on the third-party facilities MustGrow engages to conduct research and testing work.

A Rare Alignment of Regulatory & Industry Mandates

Regulatory

The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") promotes and encourages the use of safer pesticides, including bio-pesticides, requiring much less data to register a bio-pesticide than to register a conventional pesticide. In Europe, the European Commission is seeking to halve the use of chemical pesticides by 2030.

Some widely-used synthetic chemicals continue to be banned or deregistered globally. In 2018, France's health safety watchdog ordered a ban on products containing metam sodium. Chlorpyrifos, one of the world's most widely-used chemical pesticides, is under review by the EPA after a federal ban was proposed in 2015. Chlorpyrifos use has been banned in California & Hawaii, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden and United Kingdom (with exception). In February 2020, Corteva (2019 spin-off from DowDuPont) announced its intention to stop producing chlorpyrifos.

Industry

Leading agriculture companies, including Scotts Miracle-Gro, Louis Dreyfus Company, and FMC Corporation have recently announced venture capital programs to fund early-stage technologies focused on bio-pesticide & bio-herbicide crop protection and environmentally sustainable innovations. Top crop chemical company Bayer AG aims to cut the environmental impact of crop protection by 30 percent by 2030 as part of its own sustainability goals. Increasingly, large ag-chemical companies have active mandates to partner, license or acquire biological crop protection products that are both safe & effective. MustGrow's patented mustard-derived products have consistently demonstrated efficacious benefits similar to chemistry-based synthetic chemical products without the harmful safety profile often associated with these chemical products.

Source: Ag News