AgroSavfe raises €35m in Series C financing

As pesticides have come onto the radar of critical consumers, Agrosavfe's protein-based biocontrols, which promise a more sustainable agriculture, seem to have good future prospects. "We are convinced that AgroSavfe is well placed to contribute to the development of a new standard for sustainable agriculture," said Patrick Van Beneden, partner at Gimv, who co-led the €35m financing together with new investor Ackermans & van Haaren, which contributed €10m. Existing shareholders, Sofinnova Partners, PMV, Agri Investment Fund, K & E, Biovest, Madeli Participaties, VIB and Qbic, also contributed in the Series C financing.

The 2013 spin-out of VIB (Ghent) is responding to the challenge for the food and agricultural sector to improve production efficiency in a sustainable way. AgroSavfe has designed a camelid-antibody based formulation that allows more targeted delivery of existing pesticides and fungicides reducing the dose required for pest control by 70% and leaving behind just 40% of the chemical compound. The company‘s Agrobody technology platform allows the identification and testing of such biocontrols for stability, effectiveness and scalability.

Agrosavfe's product candidates include lead product BioFun 1, a fungicide designed to  control fungi on fruit and vegetables. In more than 100 field trials by the end of 2019, the company has demonstrated that BioFun 1 is  as effective as chemical solutions and food safe, but leaves no harmful chemicals behind. US market launch is planned for 2022.