Biotalys grabs €45m in Series C financing

Proceeds from the financing will be used for the further development, registration and commercial scale production of Biotalys’ lead biofungicide product, previously named Biofun 1, scheduled for US market launch in 2022 where the EPA has certified it as biological pesticide, and to expand the company’s discovery platform and development pipeline.

Biotalys NV’s platform is based on a shell of agrobodies – camelid antibodies that can be generated against virtually any target, to which they bind with high affinity and specificity. Agrobodies are safe, environmentally friendly and can be produced cost-effectively. They encapsulate registered active substances. Biotalys goal is to secure a significant part of the US$51.2bn global crop protection market, which makes about US$30bn with fungicides and insecticides.

According to the company, Biotalys’ protein-based biocontrols are as effective as chemical crop protection agents, but can be screened and developed significantly faster and have shown a proven safety profile, making them ideal crop protection agents for both pre- and post-harvest applications.