Interview with Dr. Minshad A. Ansari, CEO of Bionema:

"Many startups are held back from bringing their products to market due to regulatory hurdles."

The renowned scientist and serial innovator in the bioprotection field describes the most relevant developments in this segment, as well as the need to resolve the regulatory bottlenecks that complicate the speed with which these come to market.  

Felipe Aldunate M. 

Regulatory issues are proving to be a brake on biological innovation, he says, and the next step for this sector must move away from the field and towards public health: "the places where people live, store or prepare food should be free of toxic chemicals that could harm them". This is the view of Dr. Minshad Ansari, founder and CEO of the British firm Bionema. Founded at Swansea University, the company focuses on research and development of microbial formulations for crop protection against different types of pests and pests.  Several of these have reached the market, and have even been acquired by large companies, such as Syngenta, consolidating its focus on serial innovation. However, Ansari says that innovation in this area is not advancing fast enough in the face of the challenges ahead. The European Union wants to eliminate the use of 505 pesticides by 2030, which require biological substitutes. "A lot of new companies are held back from bringing their products to market because of regulatory hurdles. Time and cost, especially," he says. "We've had a lot of conversations with people who say, 'Oh, yes, we have a solution for that... Or this bacterium works against that... but no; it's too expensive to get it through regulation, so we're not going to develop it.'"  That's why the scientist has promoted the World BioProtection Forum, so as to encourage European regulators to encourage regulations that favor development. Ansari talks about this, England's role in global regulation and his initiatives in Latin America in the following interview.

-Let's start with a general question. What are the most important trends in the bioprotection field in the world?

“Probablemente la tendencia más importante de los últimos años ha sido la inversión en nuevas tecnologías de formulación que están permitiendo una aplicación más fácil de los productos de bioprotección utilizando equipos agrícolas convencionales. Estos permiten una mayor cobertura y persistencia en los cultivos que intentamos proteger. Se trata de tecnologías “físicas”, como la microencapsulación, y de tecnologías “químicas”, como los adyuvantes biocompatibles. Hay que recordar que hace 5 años era frecuentemente difícil encontrar adyuvantes que no fueran perjudiciales para los microorganismos que se aplicaban.

At Bionema, we have developed patented innovative formulation technologies that enable us and our collaborators to produce biopesticides that have easy distribution (ambient temperature); high efficacy; reduced number of required treatments (reducing costs); optimised for available application methods; potential for wider biocontrol applications of plant fungal diseases. For example, our patented microencapsulation formulation technology IncapsuleX™ increases efficacy by delivering biopesticides in a microcapsule to the insect cuticle – enhancing adhesion and increasing persistence on plant surfaces for improved pest and disease control."

-And you, personally, what do you consider to be the most interesting stream of innovation?

“En particular, creo que es emocionante que estemos viendo más empresas de bioprotección que buscan soluciones que puedan aplicarse en cultivos de gran superficie. La bioprotección siempre se ha visto como una solución para entornos controlados, como los invernaderos, donde la temperatura, la humedad y otras condiciones pueden controlarse para adaptarse al agente biológico en cuestión. Ahora, gracias a los avances en la formulación de estos productos, por fin podemos ofrecer soluciones en entornos no controlados, lo que abre la posibilidad de aplicarlos a los cultivos en tierra firme. Esto permitirá un uso mucho más amplio de los productos de bioprotección, permitiendo llenar los vacíos dejados por un número cada vez mayor de pesticidas químicos prohibidos, y permitiendo un crecimiento significativo en el sector de la bioprotección. La Comisión Europea quiere reducir el uso de plaguicidas químicos en la Unión Europea en un 50% durante la próxima década, en un punto de referencia establecido por la nueva estrategia “De la granja a la mesa” y “Biodiversidad”, lo que significa que deben desarrollarse y comercializarse cada vez más nuevos bioprotectores, también conocidos como bioplaguicidas.”

-Do you think that the regulations are helping the development of innovation in this sector?

"Regulations have been a problem for the bioprotection sector since the beginning because the regulators of the time did not understand that these are biological – not chemical – agents, and so they just applied the same regulations for chemicals to these bioprotection products. It seems obvious now that regulating a biological product in the same way that you regulate a toxic chemical that is specifically designed to kill biological species is not a sensible approach, but when these products were novel in the 1980s, the regulators didn’t really understand that. Now, after about 40 years of discussion, I think the message is getting through, and regulators are starting to understand that you can’t hold biologicals to the same regulatory tests as toxic chemicals. There are a lot of companies and trade organisations campaigning for changes all over the world, but Bionema is currently supporting the World BioProtection Forum’s campaign for change in the UK. The WBF is already working directly with the decision makers at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK (DEFRA) as they revise their regulations for bioprotection products post-Brexit, and DEFRA genuinely seems open to listening to the needs of the industry."

It is our hope (and the hope of many in industry!) that if an agile and flexible post-Brexit DEFRA can create a regulatory framework that works for industry, while providing a robust risk assessment process that works for government, that system can be used as a credible and robust example for other countries seeking answers to this same problem, and should lead to similar changes elsewhere, such as in the EU.

INNOVATION MODELS

-As you have pointed out, the European Union is going to stop using many chemical pesticides in a few years. Will innovation in the organic sector be able to move fast enough to replace them without impacting productivity?

“No, pero la concienciación general sobre los bioplaguicidas es cada vez mayor. La UE va a prohibir 505 plaguicidas para 2030, y puede que siga haciéndolo debido al impacto negativo de los plaguicidas en los seres humanos y el medio ambiente. Pero es un problema que muchas empresas nuevas y PYMES se vean frenadas a la hora de sacar sus productos al mercado debido a los obstáculos normativos -tiempo y coste, sobre todo- y hemos tenido demasiadas discusiones con gente que dice: “Oh, sí, tenemos una solución para eso… esta bacteria funciona contra eso… pero no, es demasiado caro pasarla por la normativa, así que no vamos a desarrollarla”.

Perhaps the answer is that innovation could be fast enough, but we need to develop a regulatory framework that nurtures innovation and encourages the start-ups and SMEs that dominate the bioprotection sector to take their innovations through that system and get them to market. It is our greatest hope that the UK government will at last show the world that this can be achieved, and that they will provide a sensible framework when they update the UK regulations later this year."

-Usted ha mencionado que las soluciones botánicas no deben ser tratadas como otros bioinsumos basados en microbios o bacterias. ¿Puede explicarlo?

"Current EU and UK regulatory are complicated and not fit for bioprotectants registration, however, when the regulatory framework is revised, a difference between pure biological agents (microbials and macrobials) and naturally plant extracts (semio-chemicals, for example) will need to be drawn. Biological agents need to be assessed by biologicals and should be subject to biological assessments – not chemical ones. However, the regulations for all bioprotection agents need to be simplified and sped up, if they are to provide the solutions that the world needs."

-In the case of Bionema, you have succeeded in bringing several biological solutions to the market. What are the key factors to become a serial innovator in this field?

Innovative solutions based on microbial control agents for the control of crop. Our business model is to license technology to multinationals. Our most successful innovation to date were NemaTrident, Nemaspreader and UniSpore®, which were acquired by Syngenta earlier this year.

Read the article "Syngenta acquires two bioinsecticides from UK-based Bionema".

La idea original surgió hace mucho tiempo. Antes era un académico que trabajaba en la India, Bélgica y el Reino Unido. Después de 2005, trabajaba en la Universidad de Swansea, en el Reino Unido. Visitaba a cultivadores y agricultores y siempre me preguntaban: “¿Cómo podemos controlar mejor las plagas y enfermedades sin productos químicos? Esto me inspiró y me hizo pensar: “¿Podemos tener algo no tóxico y mejor que los pesticidas químicos que se utilizan? Desarrollé mi pensamiento en torno a la idea, pero no tenía los recursos necesarios para llevarla hasta donde quería.  En 2012 creé Bionema, una empresa derivada de la Universidad de Swansea.  La investigación de Bionema se centraba en el desarrollo y la comercialización de microorganismos naturales para la protección de los cultivos contra plagas y enfermedades, lo que reduciría el uso de pesticidas sintéticos, mejoraría la seguridad alimentaria y aumentaría el rendimiento de los cultivos. La empresa estableció su sede en el Instituto de Ciencias de la Vida de la Universidad de Swansea, en el Reino Unido.

THE GOAL OF GLOBAL SCALE

Originally from India, Dr. Ansari's studies began at Aligarh Muslim University, where he obtained his MSc in Agricultural Nematology. He then moved to Belgium where he obtained a further Master of Sciences at the renowned Ghent University. At the same university he obtained his PhD, in 2004, after studying the biological control of June beetle with nematodes and entomopathogenic fungi. A year later, he moved to Swansea, where he joined the research team of this university. He created Bionema in 2012 under the wing of the university, a firm that had its first major milestone in 2017, when he made the discovery that led to the development of NemaTrident®, a patented three-component solution. Then, in 2018, he conceptualized a microencapsulation formulation delivery system in 2018 for foliar challenges. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Ansari raised £0.70 million in equity investment and received £1.1 million in grants from Innovate UK and the Welsh Government, which was used for the development and commercialization of UniSpore®G, a unique fungal bioinsecticide for soft fruit weevil control.

Innovation in biopesticide formulations is a core objective for Bionema, enabling the company to commercialise multiple product lines and to generate a pipeline of advanced and early-stage products that include beneficial nematicides, bioinsecticides, compatible surfactants and delivery platforms. Bionema has also developed a robust patent portfolio and collected a library of more than hundred commercially viable microorganisms for pipeline candidates.

-Can a company like Bionema that emerges from a university project be global or will it always depend on big players like Syngenta?

"Of course, it can. Even the companies we view as giants today had to start somewhere! If you look at Koppert which started in the Netherland, the company has grown to become a multinational with an annual turnover >€200 million and 1,200 employees in 26 countries, including markets such as China, Brazil, the United States, and Russia – it can be done, if you have the right funding and resources. However, in the current economic and business climate, I think that small companies like Bionema are most likely to grow to reach global status through mergers and acquisitions – it is difficult in the modern world to grow organically quickly enough to compete with the giants out there! Meanwhile, we are delighted to continue collaborating with companies such as Syngenta, and we believe that collaboration between small and large companies can enable both to bring their strengths to productive working relationships that will advance the bioprotection sector and provide the world with more, better BioSolutions, more quickly."

-What is your next development goal?

"Our next target is the area of public health. We believe this is a critical area that needs biosecurity: the places where people live, store or prepare food should be free of toxic chemicals that could harm them. This is an obvious market for biosecurity, but it doesn't seem to be one that many people are paying attention to yet. Right now we are working on mosquito control, both in their larval and adult stages, and we have made some interesting progress. Rather than spraying with toxic chemicals, we think it's better to manage human vectors like mosquitoes through IPM approaches that could draw on things like soil and water management, semiochemicals and microbial agents."

-Speaking of mosquitoes, have you been to Latin America? Have you done work in this region?

"Yes, in 2020 we signed an agreement with Scientia Colombia to collaborate on making more environmentally sustainable biological controls available in the fight against pests and diseases in less developed countries.

Bionema’s new line of microbial solutions for vector management are eco-friendly, effective, and significantly reduce the use of chemical pesticides in public health. Bionema’s public health solutions employ natural approaches that can help in keeping all types of environments free of disease-carrying pests such as mosquitoes, sandflies, biting midges, black flies, and other insects. Our expert team employs natural methods for controlling mosquitoes and other biting insects, such as ecological management, monitoring traps, pheromones, bacterial and fungal bioprotectants, always using a tailored approach to suit the environment in question. A range of experiments underway in Bangladesh, India, Brazil, and Africa."

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