Mitsui Chemicals Agro and Hokusan have signed an exclusive licensing agreement allowing Verdesian Life Sciences global access to its patented technology for suppressing mycotoxin contamination in wheat and barley.
Under the terms of the agreement, MCAG and HOK have granted Verdesian an exclusive license to commercialize this expanded usage for Verdesian’s proprietary Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) technologies in all countries except Japan. That means wheat and barley growers will now have access to this technology to help fight mycotoxins through a number of Verdesian products.
The MACG/HOK patent expands the use of Verdesian’s patented SAR products as a valuable method for inhibiting mycotoxin, particularly Deoxynivalenol (DON), one of the most potent mycotoxins for contamination of cereals.
“Even fungicides with good activity against Fusarium head blight may offer poor suppression of mycotoxins,” said Nigel Grech, Verdesian executive vice president, science and technology. “In fact, strobilurin fungicides, while controlling Fusarium head blight, can actually induce increases in the level of DON in grain tissues.”
According to company research, Verdesian’s SAR chemistry significantly reduced DON levels to below acceptable levels in wheat and barley, as well as inhibited the strobilurin-induced increase in DON when tank-mixed with azoxystrobin.
Verdesian products that contain this technology will be available for use in late 2014.