The team at Molagri
Image credit: Yasmine Omar
Toronto-based startup
<p>The seed round was led by
Starting with tree nuts and tree fruits
Potential initial targets include navel orangeworm, a major pest of almonds and pistachios, and codling moth, a significant problem in apples, said Hassan. Longer term, however, he also sees opportunities in commodity crops, including corn and canola.
The plan is to manufacture the virus-like particles using yeast fermentation. However, the technology remains at an early stage, said Hassan, who says Molagri has determined molecular structures of relevant insect receptors and is now developing its first virus-like particles for testing.
It has also secured an initial letter of intent from a grower, although commercial performance, manufacturing costs, formulation stability and efficacy in the field have yet to be established.
The company recently expanded into a Toronto laboratory with biomanufacturing and tissue culture facilities and filed a provisional patent covering its targeted VLP delivery system.
The new funding will support recruitment of scientists specializing in insect biology, virology and VLP production, as Molagri works to advance the technology toward practical applications.
The business model is still being developed, with licensing to established crop protection players among the options for its first products.
“Pesticide resistance is a slow-moving disaster for global food security, and the tools farmers have today weren’t built for a world where pests adapt this quickly,” said Bill Clerico, managing partner at Convective Capital.
“Zaky and Min are bringing the precision of modern protein engineering to agriculture. We think this platform can give growers a durable, targeted alternative to broad-spectrum chemicals.”
Further reading:
Renaissance Bioscience unveils yeast-derived VLP platform for next-gen RNAi biopesticides
Exclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteins
Exclusive: SenseUP raises $3.5m to advance dsRNA-based biopesticides that address cost, stability hurdles
Pam Marrone targets resistant weeds with cocktails of microbial metabolites as bioherbicide space heats up
🎥Bindbridge taps targeted protein degradation to ‘unlock a new toolbox’ for the crop protection industry
