Scottish biotech Solasta has secured $14 million (£10.7m) in fresh funding to accelerate work on its nature-inspired green insecticides which are said to be the first of their kind in the world.
The funding follows successful trials in 2023 in which Glasgow-based Solasta's insect control agents demonstrated equal or better efficacy than commercial chemical standards across more than 20 fields on multiple crops in Europe, the UK and US. The money will be used to advance its pipeline of insect control agents which can be selectively targeted for specific pests.
The investment round was led by venture capital group Forbion via its BioEconomy fund strategy, with co-lead investment from FMC Ventures and Corteva Catalyst. Existing investors Cavallo Ventures, Rubio Impact Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, UKi2S, SIS Ventures and the University of Glasgow also provided additional funding.
It brings the total raised to date by Solasta, co-founded in 2021 by chief executive Shireen Davies and chief scientific officer Julian Dow, to $19 million (£14.5m).
“Solasta Bio has come a long way since we set out on this journey three years ago," Ms Davies said. "Having established operations in the UK and US, we’ve now got an international team with outstanding competencies in technology and agribusiness and, importantly, we have developed our unique technology platform to address grower pain points."
Solasta uses peptide-based bioinsecticides that selectively target pests while protecting beneficial pollinators such as bees to help boost agricultural productivity in an environmentally friendly manner. The technology should also help address the growing problem of insecticide resistance in a global market worth more than £20 billion annually.
The company says it anticipates market entry as early as 2027, at least half the time traditionally taken by synthetic pest control products.
'Devastating' Grangemouth move puts jobs the length and breadth of Scotland 'at risk'
The “devastating” closure of the Petroineos oil refinery at Grangemouth will be “felt across the length and breadth of the country”, putting further jobs at risk, the Federation of Small Businesses has warned.
Hisashi Kuboyama, development manager for the west of Scotland at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "Although not unexpected, the Petroineos closure is nevertheless devastating news which will be felt well beyond the refinery gates.
"The knock-on effect on the supply chain will have an impact on numerous small businesses across the length and breadth of the country, putting many more jobs than the 400 on-site at risk.”
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Shop closures at lowest level in Scotland since 2017
The rate that stores in Scotland are closing has dropped to its lowest level since 2017, according to a report.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has released its latest bi-annual report, which found the average number of closures equates to fewer than one shop a day.
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