Sep 4, 2019EPA approves Bee Vectoring Technologies’ Vectorite product
Bee Vectoring Technologies International recently received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval for Clonostachys rosea CR-7 (CR-7) for use as a fungicide on commercial crops. CR-7 is the first registered active ingredient for the Canadian-based company and the first active ingredient approved by the EPA for application via bees, known as “bee vectoring,” in which BVT is a global leader.
Sold under the brand name Vectorite with CR-7, the product is labeled for numerous high-value crops, including strawberries, blueberries, sunflowers and almonds. With this approval, BVT is positioned to officially launch and begin to generate revenue with Vectorite with CR-7, starting with this year’s fall and winter blueberry and strawberry season in the U.S. The registration permits BVT to make positive crop protection claims when selling Vectorite with CR-7.
“Not only is this a critical milestone for BVT in terms of the commencement of scalable commercialization and revenue, but it represents a groundbreaking shift in how plant care products can be applied,” said Ashish Malik, CEO of BVT. “By using commercially reared bees to deliver biological products, growers can protect crops, increase crop yields and enhance their sustainable growing practices by reducing the use of chemicals and other costly and increasingly scarce resources including water, fuel and labor.”
BVT is pursuing regulatory approval from other key countries and, because the EPA serves as an affirmative model for regulatory agencies outside the United States, these review processes should move faster and more easily.
“According to industry statistics, to establish the high levels of safety and efficacy required to bring a new crop protection product to market costs, on average, more than US $280 million and 11 years of internal research and development, university crop trials, and grower demos. This registration is a valuable and substantial asset for BVT and brings considerable credibility within the industry.” said Michael Collinson, Chairman of the Board of Directors for BVT. “The BVT team has succeeded in developing a novel and effective alternative solution to traditional chemical pesticides and has done so at a fraction of the average industry cost. We are incredibly pleased to have accomplished this feat and are both proud and excited to put the BVT solution into the hands of farmers in the U.S. and are looking forward to future approvals in major agricultural regions around the world.”
The EPA’s registration makes Vectorite with CR-7, EPA Registration. No. 90641-2, available immediately for sale as a registered fungicide for use on the labelled crops.
BVT has developed and owns patent-pending bee vectoring technology that is designed to harmlessly utilize bumblebees and honeybees as natural delivery mechanisms for a variety of powdered mixtures comprised of organic compounds that inhibit or control common crop diseases, while at the same time enhancing crop vigor and productivity. This unique and proprietary process enables a targeted delivery of crop controls using the simple process of bee pollination to replace traditional crop spraying, resulting in better yields, superior quality, and less impact on the environment without the use of water or disruptions to labor.
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