The 2010 How-to-do-it Guide to Biopesticides with Historical Examples (Volume 6 of a 6 Volume Series)
CPL Scientific, July 2010, Pages: 217
This volume in the 8th Edition – 2010 has similarities to volumes of the same title in earlier editions. Part of the reason is that success in biopesticides rests on a few fundamentals which do not change all that much, although there are ever more examples of both what to do and what to avoid. This volume briefly addresses the characteristics of the companies that go into biopesticides.
It sets out and reviews the key success factors for participation in the biopesticides business. Similarly, the processes of finding, making and then marketing biopesticides are discussed in detail.
For this edition, we have decided to include some historical examples as parables of generally what not to do. We have included detailed sections on:
Agricultural Genetics Company (later MicroBio then Becker Underwood)
Ecogen (gone)
EcoScience (gone)
Koppert (still growing)
Mycogen (gone to Dow)
Novo (formerly Tate & Lyle, Microbial Resources, later Abbott then Valent/Sumitomo)
Each of these companies was reviewed in some detail in the early 1990s in a short-lived
journal called AgBioBusiness published by CPL and CABI. These reviews are included in
full, and even then the full folly of most of them was clear. For each, there is an itemised
history showing the optimism with which participants and investors approached this field.
We have also included a shorter overview from 2002 of:
AEF Global (gone in its original form)
AgraQuest
Bactec (gone)
BioAgri
Biosys (gone to Certis)
Certis
Earth BioSciences / Taensa (gone)
EcoSoil Systems (gone)
Eden Bioscience (gone)
Mycotech (gone to Laverlam)
Prophyta
Verdera / Kemira (now Lallemand)
A feature of the biopesticides business is that 33 years ago when this author started, the market leaders were Abbott and Sandoz and Koppert BV was a sound family business selling biocontrol insects. In 2010, the market leaders are Abbott’s successor Valent, Sandoz’s successor Certis, and Koppert is still a sound but larger, mostly family business selling biocontrol insects among other products.
Within those 33 years, one biopesticide company, Eden BioSciences, was briefly worth $1billion without having a real product. Others used capital for acquisitions of real companies as their ‘route to market’. Others tried ‘roll-ups’, putting together a number of weak companies hoping to make a strong one. Some of the founders and investors made money, but most did not.
This volume mostly illustrates that the biopesticides business is about the fundamentals, knowing your customers and markets, having sound products and crucially, being able to produce and sell them cost-effectively. Everything else is froth.
FOREWORD
WHO GOES INTO BIOPESTICIDES
INTRODUCTION
AN OVERVIEW OF THE TYPES OF COMPANIES
PESTICIDE & PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
Reasons for entering the market
Advantages & Disadvantages
FERMENTATION COMPANIES
Reasons for entering the market
Advantages & Disadvantages
NEW COMPANIES
Reasons for entering the market
Advantages & Disadvantages
Privately funded spin outs
Small crop protection companies
Commodity producers
SUCCESS FACTORS IN BIOPESTICIDES
DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES
FOCUS
FUNDING
Venture capital
Corporate funding
The sufficiency of money
TECHNICAL ISSUES
Strains of micro-organisms
Biologically active compounds
Maintaining a biopesticide
Fermentation
Post-fermentation
Success in Production
REGISTRATION
MARKETING AND SALES
The value of a biopesticide
Accessible markets and marketing focus
Distribution and sales
Internal integration
PERSONNEL
HOW TO FIND, DEVELOP AND MAKE A BIOPESTICIDE
FINDING A BIOPESTICIDE
Screening
DEVELOPMENT
PROCESS DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION
The Critical Nature of Production
Organism Storage
Laboratory Production
Semi-solid Fermentation
Semi-solid Fermentation products
Submerged Fermentation
The Submerged Fermentation Sequence
Submerged Fermentation Products
In vitro Production of Viral Pesticides
In vivo Production
PRODUCT RECOVERY
Product Recovery from Semi-solid Fermentation
Product Recovery from Submerged Fermentation
SCALE-UP
FORMULATION
Background
Formulation Types
UV
Bt formulation
Conclusions
QUALITY CONTROL & LABORATORY TESTING
Efficacy
Bioassays & Other Tests
Alternatives to Bioassays
Microbiological Purity
Mammalian Safety
Physical Characteristics
FIELD TESTING
R & D COSTS
MARKETING
SELECTING DISTRIBUTORS
USER EDUCATION
ADVERTISING
MARKETING AND PRODUCTION COSTS
Marketing Costs
Production Costs
COSTS AND RISKS
POTENTIAL PRODUCTS BY TYPE OF MICROBE
Bacteria
Fungi
Viruses
Nematodes
INFLUENCES ON THE BIOPESTICIDES MARKET
USERS
GOVERNMENTS
CONSUMERS
Attitudes towards chemicals
Consumer survey results
Organic food
Chemicals in the environment
Development costs - Chemicals vs. Biologicals
New Pests & Resistance
New Integrated Agricultural Systems IPM/ICP/IFP/LISA
THE FUTURE FOR BIOPESTICIDES
INTRODUCTION
NEW TECHNOLOGY
PEST MANAGEMENT
DEVELOPMENTS
Bacillus thuringiensis
Other Bacteria
Fungi
Viruses
THE FUTURE
HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
AGRICULTURAL GENETICS / MICROBIO (NOW BECKER UNDERWOOD)
AGC - REVIEW IN 1991 FROM IMPACT AGBIOINDUSTRY
Operations and Products
Earnings
THE HISTORY OF AGC
THE HISTORY OF MICROBIO GROUP AND MICROBIO RHIZOGEN
ECOGEN
1989 OVERVIEW FROM THE 2ND EDITION
1990 REVIEW ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN IMPACT AGBIOINDUSTRY
Introduction
What Happened?
Objectives
Products
Analysis
1992 update
THE HISTORY OF ECOGEN
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997 OVERVIEW FROM THE 4TH EDITION
1998
1999
2000
ECOSCIENCE
REVIEW IN 1992
Strategy
Technical developments
Analysis
THE HISTORY OF ECOSCIENCE
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1998
1999
2002 Overview after its demise
KOPPERT
REVIEW IN 1991 FROM IMPACT AGBIOINDUSTRY
History
Markets
Koppert Today
Why has Koppert done well?
IN 2002 FROM THE 6TH EDITION
MYCOGEN
1989 OVERVIEW FROM THE 2ND EDITION
1992 REVIEW ARTICLE FROM IMPACT AGBIOINDUSTRY
Introduction
Products
Collaborations
Analysis
THE HISTORY OF MYCOGEN
1988
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
NOVO (NOW VALENT)
NOVO - 1991 REVIEW ARTICLE FROM IMPACT AGBIOINDUSTRY
Review
The Move into Biopesticides
Products
Analysis
THE HISTORY OF NOVO
1991
1992
1993- 1995
ABBOTT
SELECTED SHORT HISTORIES FROM THE 6TH EDITION 2002
AEF GLOBAL - CANADA
AGRAQUEST - USA
BACTEC - USA
BIOAGRI - SWEDEN
BIOSYS - USA
CERTIS - USA
EARTH BIOSCIENCES / TAENSA - USA
ECOSOIL SYSTEMS - USA
EDEN BIOSCIENCE - USA
MYCOTECH / LAVERLAM - USA
PROPHYTA - GERMANY
VERDERA / KEMIRA / LALLEMAND - FINLAND
TABLES
TABLE 1 BIOPESTICIDES MADE BY SEMI-SOLID FERMENTATION
TABLE 2 FUNGI MADE BY SUBMERGED FERMENTATION
TABLE 3 ENTOMOPATHOGENS PRODUCED COMMERCIALLY IN VIVO AT SOME TIME
TABLE 4 CROPLIFE INTERNATIONAL FORMULATION CODING SYSTEM
TABLE 5 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WETTABLE POWDERS
TABLE 6 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FLOWABLE CONCENTRATES
TABLE 7 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HIGH POTENCY CONCENTRATES
TABLE 8 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GRANULES
TABLE 9 TOP RATED SUNSCREENS FOR VIRUSES AND BACTERIA (FROM BURGES, 1998)
TABLE 10 PERCENTAGE (%) OF THE TOTAL COST
TABLE 11 MAJOR COSTS IN BIOPESTICIDE PRODUCTION
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