Eden Research PLC (AIM:EDEN, OTCQB:EDNSF) chairman Lykele van der Broek hailed the “significant milestones which have materially reshaped the business” over the past year as the company convened for its annual shareholder meeting.
Van der Broek said these milestones have improved the financial performance, as May’s results showed, and provide a “better insight into our growth trajectory”.
But he urged investors to remember that the industry in which Eden operates “requires tremendous patience”, with its products navigating lab research, glasshouse and field trials, regulatory requirements and commercial agreements.
Among the notable waypoints in the past year, the former Bayer CropScience board member highlighted the US federal approval for Eden’s two formulated products, three associated active ingredients and Sustaine encapsulation system, along with approvals in states including California, Florida, Washington, Oregon and New York, as well as approvals in various other geographies too, such as Italy, Poland and Colombia.
“We are still eagerly awaiting approval in California for Mevalone, which we expect to arrive in time for the 2024 growing season,” he said, as the AIM-listed company targets the lucrative Californian wine industry and hopes to tap into the demand for sustainable fungicides.
This is “one milestone” at the “start of an exciting journey ahead”, he said, with the registration of active ingredients allowing Eden to accelerate the regulatory approvals and registration process of other formulated products based on these same terpenes, including the application for the newly announced Ecovelex seed treatment in the EU.
Backing up the positive guidance given at results, he said 2023 is expected to be equally strong as the past year, while the new French distribution agreement is predicted to boost sales of Mevalone, particularly in the wine industry.
Finally, he said the unveiling of the latest product, Ecovelex, developed in collaboration with Corteva Agriscience over the past three years, is seen as “more than capable of replacing the incumbent conventional products which face regulatory pressure”, and offers “significant” revenue potential.