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Davis, California
May 29, 2003
AgraQuest, Inc.
announces the registration and initial sales of its biofungicide
product in Japan.
The product, which is sold as Serenade(R) in the United
States, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand and Costa Rica, is sold under
the name Impression(R) in Japan for grapes and greenhouse
tomatoes. Additional crops expected on in the first half of 2004
are eggplant and strawberry for gray mold, and vegetables
including cucurbits, solanaceous and rosaceae, etc. for powdery
mildew.
AgraQuest signed a distribution
agreement with SDS Biotech, K.K. for selling Impression.
"SDS has conducted excellent
research and development with Serenade since 1998," said Dr. Pam
Marrone, AgraQuest's President and CEO. "This has been a great
partnership, as AgraQuest tailored the product for the Japanese
market."
The fungicide market in Japan is
US $1 billion according to SDS. Biopesticides are gaining
greater usage as consumers worldwide show concern about chemical
residues in their food. Mr. Takashi Shirai, President &
Representative Director of SDS Biotech K.K. commented that he is
very optimistic that this is the beginning of a solid
partnership in which both companies will benefit from the
synergies of each others' strengths. "Jointly we will discover,
develop, manufacture and market environmentally friendly,
natural pest management products for the agricultural,
institutional and home markets."
AgraQuest is developing and
commercializing a pipeline of natural pest management products
including Serenade(R) and Sonata(R) Biofungicides, Biotune(TM)
Enhancer, Muscodor(TM) Biofumigant, and Virtuoso(TM)
Bioinsecticide.
SDS is devoted to the development
of IPM (integrated pest management) products, while expanding
its business with key proprietary fungicides for vegetables and
fruit trees and herbicides for rice paddy. SDS already has a
line of biopesticides, including beneficial nematodes and
Bacillus thuringiensis bioinsecticide.
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