Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
January 11, 2017
Vestaron Corporation is pleased to announce that technology acquisition and business development expert Dr. Andy Renz joins Vestaron’s Executive Team.
Andy has more than a decade of experience in international deal making for agricultural solutions companies – both from a multi-national corporation and a start-up company perspective.
At BASF, Andy was responsible for international technology scouting and acquisition. At the early-stage technology company Benson Hill Biosystems he established commercial partnerships. As independent consultant he worked with various ag tech start-ups and venture capital firms. Andy has a strong network covering the entire agricultural solutions field. He serves on the industry advisory boards of the biostimulants company Growcentia, the ag tech incubator The Yield Lab and the conference series Ag Innovation Showcase.
“Since I first met with Vestaron in 2010, I have been fascinated by its unique approach to develop a novel class of biological insecticides. I was not surprised about Vestaron’s successful development of a strong and diversified product pipeline. Its SPEAR® product series has indeed the power of synthetics combined with the safety of biologicals,” said Andy. “Now is the right time to foster Vestaron’s commercialization efforts in existing and new markets, and to intensify the discussions with strategic partners. I am truly impressed by the competence, commitment and seriousness of the Vestaron team and I’m looking forward to taking on the business development tasks as part of this team.”
“I am really excited to have Andy on board. His strong technical background and business development expertise, his strategic thinking and track record in deal making perfectly complements our team,” states Dr. John Sorenson, Vestaron CEO. “We look forward to working with him as Vestaron approaches the phase of commercialization and strategic partnerships.”
Vestaron’s SPEAR® family of bioinsecticides uses two new, unique modes-of-action to kill a broad range of insect pests without affecting beneficial insects, humans or the environment. Synthetic variants of the bioinsecticides as well as crops expressing the active ingredient of the bioinsecticides are in development.
About Vestaron Corporation
Vestaron Corporation exploits the natural insecticidal properties of a class of peptides which have potent insect killing potential, but are safe to humans, birds, fish and the environment. These peptides utilize new modes of action that have never before been used for insect control, and therefore do not suffer from insect resistance. In addition to the bioinsectcides, the company is also leveraging its peptide technology with the development of traits and synthetics that also have a favorable safety spectrum. Vestaron is the winner of the Inaugural 2015 Bernard Blum Award for novel biocontrol solutions. Recently, the company announced completion of an oversubscribed Series D round of financing totaling $18 million dollars.
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