MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, June 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bee Vectoring Technologies International, Inc (BVT) (TSXV:BEE) announced today that it has submitted registration documents in Switzerland for its proprietary active ingredient, Clonostachys rosea CR-7 for use against fungal diseases in production agriculture.
Switzerland uses approximately CDN$40 million/year in chemical fungicides where growers are increasingly seeking non-chemical alternatives and represents the company’s beachhead into Europe. The entire European fungicide and insecticide market is approximately CDN $9.0 billion, of which approximately CDN$1.0 billion is a target for BVT’s bee delivery system.
“Growers in Europe face a great number of restrictions on chemical pesticide use, said Ashish Malik, CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies. “Products such as ours, have both the advantage of being biologic as well as fitting nicely with European practices for sustainable and precision agriculture.”
Swiss growers are early adopters of the most advanced technologies and the Swiss registration scheme allows for a relatively fast approval, within a year, for registration dossiers which are deemed to be complete.
“We are excited by the interest in our product which has led to active discussions with two possible partners concurrent with preparing an independent go-to-market option,” said Christoph Lehnen, Business Manager, Europe (pictured here carrying the Swiss regulatory submission).
BVT will initially target crops that require pollination and are susceptible to diseases such as botrytis, such as strawberries and tomatoes. Application of Clonostachys rosea CR-7 before pathogens infect the plant, not only controls disease, but can improve plant vigor as well as quality and yield at harvest.
The BVT system uses bumble bees to carry product directly to key areas of target plants in doses significantly lower than traditional spray applications. Additionally, using bees to deliver the product allows growers to reduce their consumption of water and diesel.
About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.:
BVT has developed and owns patent-pending bee vectoring technology that is designed to harmlessly utilize bumble bees and honey bees 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.
Additional information can be viewed at the website www.beevt.com
Contact:
Ashish Malik, President & CEO
marketing@beevt.com
Babak Pedram, Investor Relations
Virtus Advisory Group
Tel: 416-995-8651
bpedram@virtusadvisory.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, “annual revenue potential”, are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company’s current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including: planted acres of strawberries in Florida, selling price of competitive chemical pesticides and the US to Canadian dollar exchange rate. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. These factors include changes in law, competition, litigation, the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities, state of the capital markets, the availability of funds and resources to pursue operations, new technologies, the ability to protect intellectual property rights, the ability to obtain patent protection for products, third-party intellectual property infringement claims, regulatory changes affecting products, failing research and development activities, the ability to reach and sustain profitability, dependence on business and technical experts, the ability to effectively manage business operations and growth, issuance of debt, dilution of existing securities, volatility of publicly traded securities, potential conflicts of interest, unlikelihood of dividend payments, the potential costs stemming from defending third-party intellectual property infringement claims, the ability to secure relationships with manufacturers and purchasers, as well as general economic, market and business conditions, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company’s Filing Statement dated May 29, 2015, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. All figures are in Canadian dollars.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/32d37e33-bfb1-45dc-8d91-078e2f0565e0