AGM Statement

RNS Number : 4104C

Eden Research plc

28 June 2016

 

Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

AGM Statement

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-listed company that provides breakthrough natural microencapsulation technologies to the global agrochemicals, animal health and consumer products industries, will hold its AGM today at 12.00pm at the Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED.

At the meeting Eden's Chairman, Tom Lupton, will make the following statement:

Since Eden's last AGM, I am pleased to report that, following the initial EU approval by Malta of our agrochemical fungicide product, 3AEY, further approvals have been granted in Italy, Bulgaria, Kenya, Greece and Spain. Already, product sales have been made directly to our partners in Kenya and Greece, with sales to be made this year in Italy and Spain where our partner is manufacturing the product itself. French approval is expected during 2016.

Eden has a strong portfolio of products based on the three active substances for which we already have EU approval. We are now able, thanks to the funding received in March 2016, to progress registration of 3AEY and other products in areas such as Australia, USA and South America, where we can leverage the safety and in some cases trial data which we have already generated for the EU approval process.

In crop protection, we have a number of well-established partners to sell our products (Sumi Agro France, Sipcam Italia and Iberia and Efthymiadis) with trials on-going with partners for other areas of the world (USA, South America, Australia, Central Europe and North Africa).

Eden continues to develop and commercialise, with partners, a range of products using its patented GO-E encapsulation system with terpene technology in agrochemicals and other markets such as human (TerpeneTech for biocide and head-lice applications) and animal health (Bayer Animal Health for animal health products). Some of these opportunities are well advanced, such as Eden's nematicide product, where formulation work, field trials and testing are complete and arrangements are being concluded with our prospective partner to commercialise this product. Other opportunities are earlier stage concepts where the potential is significant, but the risk of commercial success is higher.

Developing products takes time, as does nurturing relationships with any customer, especially the bigger players where just getting a foot in the door can take a lot of time and effort. Field trials have to be conducted, the regulatory requirements have to be checked and met. Distributors and users then have to be convinced that these new products really do work. Then, you can sell products, generate revenues and, ultimately, make profits.

Eden has a well-balanced portfolio of products, projects and opportunities at differing levels of risk of commercial success, the first of which is now bearing fruit, with a strong pipeline behind it. All part of the process of Eden becoming a truly commercial entity, having shifted from a purely development phase.

In the 2015 Annual Report, your CEO said that "the outlook for the Company is better than it has been at any point in the past". I would like to reiterate his comment and assure you that I will do my best to make sure we capitalise on our position and make Eden the success it should be.

On behalf of the Board I would like to thank you for your continued support.

In addition, Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer, will provide shareholders with a short background presentation on the Company's technology and business model. The presentation is available on the Company website here:

www.edenresearch.com/html/group_profile/presentation.asp

Eden Research plc	www.edenresearch.com
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Alex Abrey, Chief Financial Officer
Shore Capital and Corporate Limited	www.shorecap.com
Stephane Auton/Patrick Castle	Tel: [phone]
Walbrook PR Ltd	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus	Mob: [phone]
Lianne Cawthorne	Mob: [phone]

Notes:

Eden is an early stage revenue company with intellectual property and expertise in encapsulation, terpenes and environmentally friendly technologies to provide naturally occurring solutions to the global agrochemicals industry, the animal health industry, and consumer products.

Eden's encapsulation technology harnesses the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic hydrophobic compounds. The technology uses yeast cells that are a by-product of numerous commercial production processes to deliver a slow release of natural compounds for agricultural and non-agricultural uses. Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor solubility. Eden's platform encapsulation technology provides a unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk agrochemicals.

With leading consultants in their respective fields, the Company is developing these technologies through innovative research and a series of commercial production, marketing and distribution partnerships.

The Company has a number of patents and a pipeline of products at differing stages of development targeting specific areas of the global agrochemicals industry. To date, the Company has invested in the region of £12m in developing and protecting its intellectual property and seeking regulatory approval for products that rely upon the Company's technologies. Revenues earned by the Company have been modest whilst the Company has concentrated on securing patent protection for its intellectual property, gaining regulatory approvals, identifying suitable industrial partners, and entering into licence agreements. 

In May 2013, the three actives that comprise Eden's first commercial product, 3AEY, were approved as new ingredients for use in plant protection products.  This represents a major milestone in the commercialisation of Eden's technology and is a significant accomplishment for any company.  To illustrate this point, one should note that in all of 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.

3AEY has already been authorised for sale in Kenya, Malta, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy.

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN.

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com

 

END

 

 

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