Biotalys Seeks EPA Approval for Its First Biocontrol Agricultural Product

Belgian food and crop protection company Biotalys NV, which made its initial foray into North Carolina in the summer of 2020, has just submitted its first product for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval.

Evoca (BioFun-1) is a protein-based, environmentally friendly biofungicide designed to combat major crop diseases like Botrytis cinerea and powdery mildew. Biotalys said the product offers U.S. fruit and vegetable growers a new way to protect their crops to maximize yields and extend shelf life after harvest.

“Biotalys is thrilled to have begun the EPA registration process for its first product,” said company Chief Operating Officer Luc Maertens. “While Evoca targets diseases like Botrytis cinerea and powdery mildew, we are leveraging the flexibility of our technology platform to advance a broad pipeline of products with new modes of action that will safely and reliably address key crop pests and diseases across the food value chain.”

Biotalys said the EPA submission follows more than 200 global field and greenhouse trials that demonstrated the effectiveness of Evoca in consistently controlling pathogens in fruit and vegetable crops. The company hopes to launch the product in some regions of the United States in late 2022. The European Union will follow, and major agricultural markets in Latin America and Asia will be considered for further registrations.

Biotalys established its U.S headquarters in the Landing Pad office space at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park.

The rapidly growing company was founded in 2013 as a spinoff from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology and is based in Ghent, Belgium. 

Biotalys won the “Crop Protection Solution of the Year” and “Overall Food Quality Solution of the Year” awards in the 2020 AgTech Breakthrough Awards program, which attracted more than 1,250 nominations from all over the world.