IFF > IFF’s Health & Biosciences division and Boost Biomes enter into development and license agreements

IFF’s Health & Biosciences division and Boost Biomes enter into development and license agreements

February 26, 2021

IFF’s Health & Biosciences division and Boost Biomes enter into development and license agreements
IFF’s Health & Biosciences division and Boost Biomes enter into development and license agreements

PALO ALTO, CA (February 26, 2021) – Agriculture biotech startup Boost Biomes, and the IFF’s Health & Biosciences division, a world leader in sustainable and innovative bioscience solutions, today announced development and license agreements to bring a new microbial biofungicide to market to reduce crop and harvest losses.

Fungal infections are devastating to crops on a global level, impacting yields and dramatically reducing farm profitability. Lab and field studies conducted by both IFF’s Health & Biosciences division and Boost Biomes have demonstrated the new Boost Biomes biofungicide to be a promising solution to combat fungal infections in several high-value crops and applications. “We are excited to join forces with Boost Biomes to further develop and manufacture this novel, environmentally-friendly biofungicide. said Michael Hyzny, director of crop biologicals, IFF, Health & Biosciences division. Our R&D and manufacturing teams have achieved significant milestones towards industrial scale and economics of fermentation and extended product stability. We are looking forward to bringing this new solution to the market soon, partnering with growers, local field experts and solution providers.”

“The team within IFF’s Health & Biosciences division has very effectively and quickly validated our internal research on the new biofungicide, and developed processes to bring the microbial active ingredients to the US market in field applications for high-value crops,” said Jamie Bacher, Boost Biomes’ CEO and cofounder. “Boost will also bring these active ingredients to market in other crops and territories, as well as other application areas.  For example, we see great opportunities, supported by solid data, to reduce the post-harvest waste experienced by growers, packagers, distributors and grocers.”

IFF’s Health & Biosciences division continues to develop and apply cutting edge biotechnology tools, a large and diverse microbiome collection, industrial scale microbial fermentation, and proprietary formulation expertise to a broad range of markets.  “Our comprehensive capabilities can offer partners like Boost Biomes the relevant technologies for their products, to make it commercially attractive to downstream partners and customers” said Vik Prabhu, vice president of ventures, IFF, Health & Biosciences division.

Boost Biomes was founded in 2016 with advanced technology to understand microbiome interactions licensed exclusively from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Boost Biomes announced its series A funding round led by Yara International with investors including Viking Global, Universal Materials Incubator and Y Combinator.

Leaders from both IFF’s Health & Biosciences division and Boost Biomes are attending the virtual World Agri-tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco, March 9 and 10.

About Boost Biomes, Inc.
Boost Biomes is developing new products to address critical needs in food abundance, security and safety. Underlying the products is a proprietary microbiome technology platform that provides Boost a unique understanding of interactions within microbiomes, leading to superior products that are effective, safe, organic and natural. For more information, visit http://boostbiomes.com/http://boostbiomes.com/

About IFF’s Health & Biosciences division
Inspired by nature and distinguished by its world-class bioscience and microbiome capabilities, IFF’s Health & Biosciences division is a leading innovation partner for customers across a broad range of consumer product, industrial and agricultural sectors. IFF’s Health & Biosciences division works closely with our customers to enhance products – and their processes – to deliver safer, healthier and more sustainable solutions.

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