Nihon Nohyaku and Boost Biomes establish joint development agreement to address critical needs for bio-insecticides

TOKYO and BERKELEY, Calif., June 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nihon Nohyaku Co., Ltd. (known as "NICHINO") and Boost Biomes Inc ("Boost") announce today a joint development agreement to develop novel bio-insecticides. NICHINO is a global chemicals company, focused on agriculture. Boost is a biotechnology startup company developing microbiome products for agriculture. This program will address the devastating challenges of insect pests.

Chemical products have been fairly successful at controlling insect pests, and NICHINO in particular has a historic role in the industry due to new product development. However, biological alternatives to chemical products are an essential market need. NICHINO is now taking a leading role in the industry by working to develop biological alternatives to chemical products. "Addressing crop pests with biological products is the critical need of this century, just as the discovery of chemical products to achieve the same goal was a desperate need of the last century. With NICHINO's nearly 100 years in the industry, we understand the needs of our customers and are committed to commercializing novel, highly-effective and environmentally-friendly insecticide products," said Shiro Takahashi, NICHINO's Senior Executive Officer and Division Manager of Corporate Planning Division.

"It is a real pleasure and exciting to work with established experts at NICHINO. We leveraged internal Boost efforts to jointly design an accelerated path to product discovery. We appreciate the NICHINO vision and leadership in the space," said Jamie Bacher, CEO of Boost "This is another example of how our platform can address diverse needs in the industry, and how we are ready and able to work with partners to achieve a variety of commercial goals with the theme to reduce the environmental impact of the food and agriculture industries broadly."

Under the joint development program, NICHINO and Boost will combine their expertise to develop a novel bio-insecticide. Boost's proprietary technology platform identifies interactions between microbes, which the company uses to assemble novel, effective and reliable multi-microbial products. The companies share a vision of delivering transformative bio-insecticides that promote sustainable agriculture practices worldwide.

About Nihon Nohyaku Co., Ltd..

NICHINO Group aims to ensure a safe and steady food supply, improving the quality of life for all, and creating new value through technological innovation. NICHINO has been advancing agricultural chemical applications for 95 years, while accelerating global expansion to increase agricultural productivity not only in Japan, but also worldwide. NICHINO Group has 15 subsidiaries globally, of which headquarter is located in Tokyo and R&D center in Osaka. NICHINO also makes and sells chemical products, pharmaceuticals and animal health products. NICHINO Group had JPY 102 billion (over $750M) in sales in FY 2022, in the agriculture and other markets. For more information, visit https://www.nichino.co.jp/en/index.html

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, and that facilitate the transition from chemical to biological products in the agriculture industry. For more information, visit http://boostbiomes.com/

For more information, please contact:

Boost Biomes: [email protected]

Nihon Nohyaku: [email protected]

SOURCE Boost Biomes