Davis, CA - Botanical Solution Inc. (BSI), innovator of sustainable, consistent and cost-effective Advanced Botanical Materials (ABM) for agricultural and pharmaceutical applications, has won the “Best Biotech Startup Business of the Year 2022” Award from the World BioProtection Forum and selected finalist for two more categories.
This award was presented to BSI Senior Vice President Latin America Diego Ibanez who also was one of the distinguished speakers at the main event, held on May 23 in Birmingham, UK.
An international panel of 20 senior agricultural executives and research scientists evaluated dozens of successful projects based on a point system. The judges’ collective decision to award this honor to BSI was based on the company’s discovery, innovativeness, scientific value and successful commercialization of its new biofungicide Quillibrium for fruit and vegetable growers worldwide. The judges also selected BSI as one of the ‘Finalist’ for the Most Innovative Research Project and the Best Collaboration of the Year for its strong partnership with Syngenta in Latin America.
BSI scientists discovered that extracts of a tissue cultured tree native to Chile, the Quillaja saponaria, produce a powerful biofungicide which protects a wide variety of fruits and vegetables against a broad spectrum of plant diseases. An early stumbling block to commercial development was the Chilean deforestation law which strictly forbids the cutting down of Quillaja Saponaria trees. BSI overcame this obstacle by innovating and patenting a unique method of growing these trees right in the company’s own laboratories, and then extracting the active ingredients while the trees are in vitro … baby trees. The same technology also fuels BSI’s pipeline of new biopesticide candidates that are based on a number of plant species, which ensures virtually unlimited supply of raw materials and highly consistent active ingredients that have prevented traditional botanicals from its true potential … until now.
The new botanical-based biofungicide Quillibrium is being used successfully throughout Chile and Peru on a wide variety of fruits and vegetables through its distributor Syngenta. Quillibrium awaits regulatory approval in Mexico and the USA, and will soon initiate registration in additional countries to expand its global footprint.
BSI CEO Gastón Salinas said, “The BSI team is honored to receive the Best Biotech Startup of the Year Award from the World BioProtection Forum. BSI is building strong foundations to deliver the world’s most advanced botanical biopesticides for fruit and vegetable growers worldwide, starting with Quillibrium. We are creating a powerful product pipeline for the next generation of botanical-based products.”
Gastón Salinas will be keynote speaker at Biocontrol Latam on Aug. 16 in Santiago, Chile.
To learn more, visit www.botanical-solution.com.