Plant Advanced Technologies PAT Launches a New Bio-herbicide Discovery Program Awarded Under the “programme D’investissem...
12 Décembre 2019 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Regulatory News:
Plant Advanced Technologies PAT (Paris:ALPAT) announces the
allocation of exceptional funding by the office of Prime Minister
Édouard Philippe, as part of the national innovation contest
"Programme d’Investissements d'Avenir III". The project associating
INRA and ITEPMAI, entitled HerbiScan, enters the category
"Innovative Agriculture" and aims to discover and develop new
herbicides of plant origin, which will be in adequacy with the
stakes of the current agriculture (new active molecules more
respectful of the environment). Additionally, HerbiScan is
committed to look for biocontrol solutions in agriculture that will
be developed by PAT.
Current agriculture is still closely linked to the use of
synthetic substances to limit the proliferation of species that are
detrimental to crops. As the leading agricultural country in
Europe, France is the second largest European user of pesticides.
Among these substances, herbicides account for almost half of the
uses with about 28,000 tons/year. Although the synthetic herbicides
used so far have allowed considerable progress in agriculture
during the second half of the 20th century, their intensive use has
led to the emergence of various problems (health and environmental
impacts, resistance leading to inefficient treatments and a loss of
quality and income for farmers...) that makes it urgent to find
alternatives to synthetic substances.
This situation poses the challenge of discovering new herbicides
that will have to be less toxic for humans and the environment than
synthetic substances, while maintaining a significant efficacy for
crop protection. Such herbicides exist naturally in some plant
species, but almost none have been placed on the market by both
public and private research.
Based on this observation and inspired by its unique Target
Binding® technology enabling accelerated discovery of new assets,
PAT decided to launch its HerbiScan project in order to discover
solutions in line with the current issues of agriculture.
Frédéric Bourgaud, Director of Research at PAT: «
HerbiScan, through its screen for an alternative to the repeated
use of older generation synthetic phytosanitary substances, aims to
contribute to the invention of new solutions in agriculture. This
paradigm shift will only be possible through profound changes and
we are convinced that plant protection can be reinvented with
environmentally friendly products. »
This collaborative project led by PAT uses two main partners for
the identification of new herbicidal chemical structures: INRA and
ITEPMAI. HerbiScan aims to: - Discover new molecules with
herbicidal activity from extracts of plant origin. - Characterize
the herbicidal activity of these molecules (efficacy and
selectivity) on greenhouse-grown weeds. - Determine the
toxicological profiles of these new molecules in order to retain
only those with a favorable profile. - Validate by field trials on
field crops the herbicidal effects previously observed for
molecules with toxicological safety.
Christophe Délye, researcher at INRA, responsible for «
Herbicide » topic within the Agroecology unit in Dijon: « For
several years now, the diversity of herbicide modes of action
authorized in agriculture has been decreasing and, since almost 30
years, no new herbicide mode of action has been marketed. This
scarcity situation is worsening by the evolution of resistance in
weeds, which translates concretely into increased pollution
(ineffective treatments and additional treatments) and weeding
failure. Today, thanks to the HerbiScan project, we hope to
contribute to the emergence of an efficient and sustainable
agriculture, and, in the short term, to give a breath of fresh air
to the control of weeds by providing herbicidal molecules which,
ideally, will not be affected by the current resistance of weeds,
and will be non-toxic to the environment and human health. »
Thomas Regnault, PAT Project Lead HerbiScan: « Plants are
a remarkable reservoir of new molecules with herbicidal potential
which has been little exploited until now. There are still many
plants to study and therefore new substances with new modes of
action to discover, all supported by the innovative technology
deployed at PAT. »
Anne Buchwalder, Director of Iteipmai: « Plant secondary
metabolites represent an infinite source of molecules with a wide
range of activities. Their roles in plant interactions are just
starting to be investigated. The intersection between field
observations and the scientific literature has already made
possible to identify molecules presenting herbicidal effects. By
combining the technologies and the knowledge of its partners, this
project proposes an innovative approach which should allow to
multiply the candidate extracts. Iteipmai is pleased to contribute
to this ambitious project meeting societal expectations and in line
with the crop protection market’s issues. »
About PAT: Plant Advanced Technologies PAT is specialized
in the identification, optimization and production of rare new
active plant compounds for cosmetics, pharmaceutics, nutraceutical
and agrochemical markets. Since its creation, the company has
developed unique worldwide patented technologies for fast discovery
of active molecules and their industrial production while
preserving plant biodiversity (Target Binding® and PAT Plant
Milking®). PAT is registered on EuroNext GrowthTM Paris (ISIN code:
FR0010785790 - Mnemonic: ALPAT).
Learn more: www.plantadvanced.com
About INRA: INRA is the largest agricultural research
institute in Europe, with around 10 000 employees in 2018, and is
the second largest producer of agricultural science publications
worldwide. INRA develops knowledge and innovation in the fields of
food, agriculture and the environment, through a research network
unique in Europe - 184 research units and 42 experimental units
located throughout France. INRA’s main goal is to contribute to the
development of competitive and sustainable agricultural and
forestry systems producing healthy and high-quality food as well as
biomass for the bioeconomy, while actively participating in the
global efforts to protect the environment and natural resources. On
1st of January 2020, INRA is merging with IRSTEA to become the
French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the
Environment (INRAE).
Learn more: www.inra.fr
About Iteipmai: The Interprofessional Technical Institute
of Perfume, Medicinal, Aromatic and Industrial Plants, certified by
the Ministry of Agriculture and affiliated to the ACTA Network, is
responsible for an applied research mission by assisting the
aromatic and medicinal plants sector. This major technical
activity, carried out under the request of its members, aims at
improving farmers income and securing it over time, to maintain and
develop the sector activity on the French territory, to help
agricultural and industrial enterprises to have access together to
a sustainable development, and to generate consumer confidence and
wellbeing.
Learn more: www.iteipmai.fr
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191211005807/en/
Contact PAT Medias Margaux FEVRE
communication@plantadvanced.com
Contact INRA Medias Elsa CHAMPION
presse@inra.fr
Contact Iteipmai Direction Anne BUCHWALDER
anne.buchwalder@iteipmai.fr
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