27 August 2020
In early July, we were pleased to announce that we had opened a new laboratory facility at Milton Park, one of Europe’s leading science and technology communities in Oxfordshire. Milton Park is home to a wide range of companies, from global industry leaders such as Corteva Agriscience, to fast growing biotech start-ups. Being part of this community was a part of our decision to move operations to Milton Park, as it will give us an opportunity to collaborate with universities and innovative companies in the region.
The most significant strategic factor behind our move was to bring more capabilities in-house, including formulation and analytics, microbiological screening, plant and seed evaluations. The space we purposefully selected came furnished with the required equipment to conduct such work, helping to significantly reduce the cost of moving and setting up.
Our new R&D team
Before we dive deeper into the capabilities of our new laboratory and our project pipeline, we wanted to introduce our new senior team members. These key hires will be supported by some bright, enthusiastic junior research chemists and other talent we are seeking to join us at the new facilities.
Dr. Aoife Dillon, Global Head of Biology and Development – Aoife joined us from Plant Health Care, a provider of scientifically proven biological products for the agricultural industry, where she has been Technical Director for the EMEAA Region for the past three years. Before this, she was Chief Technology Officer at Exosect Ltd, a formulations company focused on targeted delivery of biological and synthetic compounds used in agriculture. Aoife has also worked for the likes of BASF Crop Protection, Horticultural Development Company and the Institute of Bioengineering & Agroecology. She brings over 20 years of success in coordinated crop trials and has a strong track record of developing upon sustainability standards. Under her leadership at Plant Health Care, the company won Agrow’s Best New Biological Product award in 2018. During her time at Exosect, she oversaw the granting of four key patents for the company, winning an Agrow Innovation Award in 2016.
Aoife has global responsibility for developing Eden’s product pipeline from a biology standpoint, including the assessment of the efficacy and safety of new formulations and running commercial scale trials focused on plant biology. She also has experience in regulatory compliance and will work closely with Eden’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Dr. Mike Carroll, in supporting Eden’s commercial partners and growing the list of authorised uses for our products.
Samuel John Hubbard, Laboratory Manager – Sam joined us from Oxford Analytical, a provider of high quality GLP-compliant analytical services since 2005, where he rose through the ranks to become Managing Director. During his 15-year tenure he achieved significant growth for the company, increasing annual turnover by 10% year on year, and his experience in GLP test facility management and compliance will be now be invaluable for our new facility. Sam previously held development roles at Patheon, Sussex Pharma and Peterblack Healthcare.
Sam has over 20 years of experience in agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals with vast technical and regulatory knowledge as well as being highly skilled at training and leading product development from specification to delivery. As laboratory manager, Sam will be responsible for managing the laboratory facilities, staff, and the implementation of GLP/GEP. In addition, he also heads up our analytical function ensuring a smooth flow of information between our commercial, formulation, analytical and biological departments.
Key capabilities and projects
Despite the laboratory only being open for a month, we are already beginning to see the value of developing capabilities in-house. Already we have been able to resolve our three active ingredients by gas chromatography (GC) – a piece of analysis that we previously would have outsourced to a contractor, usually taking weeks to complete and at a greater cost.
Having more in-house capabilities will help reduce the cost and improve the speed of product R&D. Alongside being able to do detailed analytical work, the laboratory also has equipment to analyse a wide range of compounds from a chemical and physical standpoint and the ability to perform lab scale formulation development and stability testing (rheometer, homogenization, particle size).
Bringing early phase, in-vitro screening in-house allows us to evaluate large numbers of potential formulations in a timely manner. Promising candidates are then taken forward into the phase two screening, where efficacy is evaluated on plants in a controlled environment. Using model systems we can test our products under more realistic conditions, developing a deeper understanding of whether product efficacy is influenced by plant architecture. By investing in seed treaters, pesticide track sprayers, our insectary, plant growth rooms, and climate control incubators, we can now truly evaluate the optimal performance and positioning our of products without reliance upon external contract research organisations and the higher costs and longer development times associated with purely out-sourced development models.
Our new facility will allow us to concentrate on insect-focussed work as part of our plan to develop bioinsecticide products. There is a lack of sustainable insecticides available to farmers, meaning there is an addressable market worth around €850m in the EU and US combined. Our bioinsecticide product candidates are based on Eden’s terpene active ingredients and can protect against multiple key insect pests including whitefly, aphids, thrips and mites. Having in-house laboratory facilities will speed up our ability to commercialise new products.
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