Apr 3, 2009

BASF, AgraQuest Partner on Serenade

BASF and AgraQuest Inc. have entered into a license, supply and distribution agreement for Serenade, a bio-fungicide product with effective disease control. The deal will allow BASF to distribute existing Serenade products. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial terms.

The agreement gives BASF rights to Serenade for foliar and drench applications in agricultural crops in many countries throughout Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Latin America. These rights include exclusive distribution in countries not covered by existing AgraQuest partnerships.

Serenade provides growers with a unique solution for unmet needs in the food production value chain as a fungicide and bactericide that can be sprayed shortly before harvest.

Additionally, Serenade provides growers with an excellent fungicide resistance management tool: the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) recently added Serenade to its list of approved products.

Growers also gain access to high-value markets with strict pesticide residue restrictions, due to Serenade’s exemption from residue tolerances.

BASF will distribute two ready formulations, the liquid Serenade ASO and the wettable powder MAX.

The patented active ingredient in Serenade, Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713, is registered as a fungicide in 25 countries and has obtained Annex 1 listing in the European Union. Serenade has proven its broad-spectrum disease control on more than 50 crops through 6,000 field trials worldwide.

BASF’s initial focus will be to launch Serenade in Brazil, the world’s largest fungicide market, and obtain registrations in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as expand global sales on bananas.