Investment drives launch of Phytalix®, a new broad spectrum biofungicide delivering practical, sustainable disease control for farmers globally
ITHACA, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ascribe Bio (“Ascribe”), an innovator in natural crop protection, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $12 million Series A financing round, co-led by Corteva, through its Corteva Catalyst platform, and Acre Venture Partners. The financing also included participation from new and existing investors including Syngenta Group Ventures, Trailhead Capital, Silver Blue LLC, Cultivation Capital, and The Yield Lab.
This milestone advances Ascribe’s small-molecule technology platform and supports the upcoming commercial launch of Phytalix®. Phytalix is a revolutionary ‘biofungicide without compromise’ that provides the health and sustainability benefits of biologicals with the ease of use and affordability of traditional chemical crop protection products.
“Ascribe’s approach to biological solutions provides farmers with smart and sustainable choices for disease control,” said Tom Greene, senior director at Corteva and global leader of Corteva Catalyst. “This investment illustrates our ongoing commitment to advancing next generation biological and nature inspired products for growers around the world.”
Alex Bondar, Partner at Acre, commented, “Ascribe’s lean team has been strategic and disciplined, advancing Phytalix from the lab to the field. They’ve demonstrated dramatic yield gains versus other biologicals. You see the progress reflected in the caliber of this syndicate.”
“We’re excited to secure these resources to fund the global launch of Ascribe’s technologies and are delighted to earn the support of renowned global agriculture leaders like Corteva and Syngenta Group Ventures,” said Jay Farmer, CEO of Ascribe. “This investment accelerates our mission to bring highly effective and sustainable crop protection to farmers worldwide.”
With this financing, Ascribe will ramp up manufacturing and support early commercialization activities, ahead of Phytalix’s first regulatory approval expected later this year in Brazil, with USA and other markets to follow.
About Ascribe:
Ascribe is an Ithaca, NY-based agricultural technology company developing natural crop protection solutions. Founded in 2017 based on research from the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, Ascribe’s flagship biofungicide, Phytalix®, harnesses small molecules from the soil microbiome to create effective, environmentally friendly disease control solutions that help farmers grow more resilient crops and harvest higher yields.
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Christine Gould
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