Willow Biosciences Inc (TSX:WLLW, OTCQB:CANSF) on Wednesday announced a new funded research and development partnership with what’s described as “an innovative Ag-Biotech company in the biopesticides sector.”
The partnership follows the successful completion of a feasibility study, and, its expected to generate over $2 million in revenue in year one.
It means that Willow now anticipates total revenue of over $4 million across its programs this year.
"This is truly exciting partnership for Willow, as it not only comes with significant near-term research and development and future commercial milestone payments, but also extends our technology and capabilities into the high growth biopesticide sector," said chief executive Dr Chris Savile.
"It not only comes with significant near-term research and development and future commercial milestone payments, but also extends our technology and capabilities into the high-growth biopesticide sector. I am once again impressed with our team and technology platform for quickly demonstrating proof-of-concept and progressing to a full development partnership.”
The collaboration agreement guarantees $1.25 million in research and development revenue within the first six months, followed by a further $1 million in the following six months.
It anticipates that the necessary R&D for the program will utilize existing facilities, equipment, and employees, necessitating minimal additional costs and resources.
Willow, meanwhile, highlighted that biochemical pesticides are naturally occurring substances that control pests through non-toxic, targeted mechanisms, and are a growing market.
It also pointed to research from Fortune Business Insights that claimed the global biopesticides market size is estimated at around $8.7 billion in 2024 with a compound annual growth rate of 15.9%.
Biopesticides are deemed to typically be safer and more environmentally friendly than conventional pesticides, but they can be challenging to produce at a large scale.