Bactobio Spotlight: World Bioprotection Award nomination
9 May 2022
BACTOBIO SHORTLISTED FOR GLOBAL INDUSTRY AWARD
Bactobio’s efforts to discover novel biofungicides from previously unexplored microbes has been shortlisted for a global bioprotection award.
The World Bioprotection Awards recognise and showcase the achievements of innovators in the biocontrol industry and their impact in crop protection. Bactobio is among four finalists in the category for Biotech Start-up Business of the Year. Judges received a record number of applications across the ten award categories, which are all based on recognising those who address the pressing need to develop alternatives to synthetic chemical crop protection.
Shortlisted companies for the World Bioprotection Awards 2022
The shortlisting reflects Bactobio’s work to screen bacteria for the biofungicide solutions of the future. This includes a Defra and UKRI-funded project to identify up to 10 natural
compounds with modes of action against ascomycete fungus Zymoseptoria tritici, commonly known as Septoria. The project is Bactobio’s first grant-supported work in crop protection and complements Bactobio’s BACCU platform with testing against reference pathogens through collaboration with Crop Health and Protection (CHAP).
Mark Wilkinson, Chief Scientific Officer at Bactobio, said "It's fantastic to hear that we’ve been shortlisted for this award.
“Our work in bioprotection stems from Bactobio's interest in harvesting valuable metabolites from previously unculturable bacteria. We've made great progress so far and look forward to realising the potential of our platform to combat fungal pathogens.“
"As an interdisciplinary company pushing the frontiers of synthetic biology, we’re excited to be able to partner with institutions like CHAP to help boost our discovery capabilities and bring our pipeline outputs closer to market."
Bactobio’s first crop protection discovery efforts target some of the world’s most damaging crop pathogens. As well as providing farmers with new bio-control options, having a diverse genetic pool for the compounds will reduce the likelihood of future resistance issues.
CHAP Innovation Sector Lead, Richard Glass, said: “We are delighted that Bactobio has been recognised through this award short-listing."
“Previously, Bactobio had used their technology to discover novel antibiotic solutions. Bringing this to agriculture has been an exciting project for us, as our industry desperately needs new alternatives and fresh thinking. "
“It’s a great demonstration of what CHAP strives to achieve – building new networks and collaborations to deliver game-changing agri-tech solutions.”
The winners will be announced at the Annual World BioProtection Summit and Awards on May 23.