Agritech: Encompassing crop protection, biopesticides, agbiotechnology and conventional plant breeding markets
A strategic focus
Combined with our expertise in animal health, we are uniquely placed to help clients understand and navigate these specialised commercial sectors. Our agritech team have career backgrounds that include in- and out-licensing, business development and research positions within multinational companies such as Syngenta and leading academic plant science research institutes.
Crop protection, plant breeding and agbiotech
Our expertise covers crop protection (e.g. novel pesticides), both conventional chemicals and biopesticides, natural product agricultural inputs, agbiotechnology (e.g. plant transformation technologies, gene traits) and technologies for conventional plant breeding.
Extensive networks
Understanding and navigating the agritech sector can be difficult without a deep knowledge of the industry and its major players. Individuals within the team have been involved in the sector for more than 20 years. We proactively maintain our networks through company visits and conferences, constantly refreshing this knowledge through discussions on new technology needs with the global crop protection and agbiotechnology companies.
Industry Sector Lead:
Rupert Osborn
Managing Director
+44 (0)203 176 0584
rupert.osborn@ip-pragmatics.com
Recent Projects
- Undertaking a BBSRC Pathfinder funded market assessment and patent landscape for approach to producing human milk fat substitute in plants and microbes.
- Assisting a leading U.K. Russell Group university to review the commercial agritech opportunities from its research base across different departments including its plant sciences department.
- Supporting a Japanese conglomerate to review the market opportunity for novel plant transformation technologies and subsequently being retained by the company to market and licence the technologies to potential partners globally.
Recent Projects
- Assisting a major multinational to dispose of a legacy portfolio of plant biotechnology related patents.
- Advising UK and Dutch universities on fair and reasonable early stage plant biotechnology licensing terms in negotiations with multinational agbiotechnology companies.
- Assisting an Australian plant natural products company to secure new funding for clinical trials and an option agreement with a major European potential supply chain partner.
- Assisting a UK research organisation to negotiate a major plant screening collaboration with a leading FMCG multinational.
Recent Projects
- Working with a major U.S. multinational to identify new agbiotechnologies and research opportunities. Facilitating meetings between the U.S. company and over 50 academics across 15 research institutes and universities.
- Assisting a UK agricultural research institute with a strategic review of its external income generation capabilities and approaches.
- Assisting a Chinese diagnostic company identify and set-up a research collaborations with a UK centre of expertise in plant diagnostics.
Project Outcomes
- Working over an 18-month period with a leading UK agricultural research institute to undertake a strategic review of its external income generation capabilities and approaches leading to the institute refocussing its approach to commercialisation, including the formation of a new commercial subsidiary.
- Providing a market assessment and patent landscape for a UK research institute investigating the opportunity to produce omega-3 fish oils in genetically modified plants leading to the institute securing significant additional translational funding to undertake field trails and industry testing of the resulting oil product.
- Undertaking an IP audit and IP valuation for an agriculture LED lighting company resulting in the company securing additional funding and a long term partnership
- Working with a leading Australian government research organisation to assess a proposed business plan, undertake a valuation and identify an optimal commercial strategy for a novel high-fibre barley grain, leading to the formation of a new commercial venture to take forward the commercial expansion of the technology.
