Biotalys establishes Scientific Advisory Board

GHENT, Belgium, April 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biotalys NV, a rapidly growing and transformative Food and Crop protection company developing a new generation of protein-based biocontrols, today announces the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) comprised of recognized industry experts and thought leaders who will provide scientific and technical advice to accelerate the development of Biotalys’ unique biocontrol solutions.

The SAB will accompany the Biotalys leadership team to make important decisions as the Company continues to advance the development of its lead, novel biofungicide that is expected to enter the U.S. market in 2022. The SAB will also provide external scientific perspective to further develop and validate Biotalys’ unique discovery platform and multi-indication pipeline of novel, protein-based biocontrol solutions for applications in agriculture and the food industry.

Hilde Revets, CSO of Biotalys, commented: “The creation of our SAB is an important step for the future growth of our company and is a true validation of our breakthrough science and cutting-edge technology platform. Our SAB experts will support and evaluate our strategic choices to shape the future of sustainable and safe food supply.” Luc Maertens, COO of Biotalys, added: “We are very excited and privileged to benefit from such a complementary group of industry experts to further prepare the commercialization of our lead biofungicide and accelerate our unique pipeline of biocontrols with novel modes of action. Their deep understanding and experience in the sector, from technology to product development, through to regulatory affairs and market entry will be invaluable for the future success of our Company.”  

The appointments to Biotalys’ SAB include:

• Adrian Percy, PhD – Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board
  With more than 25 years of experience in the agricultural industry, Adrian is an advocate of the needs for, and benefits of modern agriculture. He is also a strong proponent of the development and adoption of new agricultural and food technologies that support global food security while preserving the environment. Adrian currently serves as the CTO of UPL Ltd and was previously head of research and development for the Crop Science division of Bayer as part of their executive committee. Adrian joined Biotalys as an independent Board Member in 2018. Adrian is a toxicologist by training and received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Birmingham.
  
  
• Jacqui Campbell, PhD, MBA
  Jacqui is a senior executive with a passion for new technology innovation and has over 28 years of experience in the global agriculture industry. During her tenure with Syngenta she has held leadership positions across R&D, production and supply chain and has deep experience in scaling technology from an idea in the lab to both commercial production and product in the field.  She is currently responsible in Syngenta for assessing novel technologies and business opportunities across the Agtech landscape and is an executive member of the Syngenta Corporate Venture Fund Committee.
  
  
• Daniel Joo, PhD
  Daniel is currently Vice President of Biology at Oerth Bio. He brings 20+ years of expertise in both wet lab and dry lab sciences that are critical to innovation in emerging technology. Utilizing both approaches as the Director of Informatics, he led genomics and bioinformatics efforts at AgraQuest, a biopesticide company, which was acquired by Bayer in 2012. Within Bayer, he held various strategic positions in Traits and Biologics, focused on the identification and improvement of novel traits or microbes for controlling weeds, pests and diseases. Prior to joining Oerth, Daniel was the Head of Microbiome Discovery at BASF. He also has 10 years of experience working for start-up biotech companies in human therapeutics. Daniel received both his B.A in Biology and B.A.S. in Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California at Berkeley and conducted his postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF.
  
  
• Franz-Josef Placke, Doctor rerum naturalium, Pharmacist
  Since January 2019, Franz-Josef works as a self-employed Technology Advisor for Life Sciences and he is currently also Chair of the Advisory Board for Rottendorf Pharma. Franz-Josef is retired from Bayer AG where he held senior management positions with global responsibility in R&D as well as in production for more than 15 years. He was responsible for product development, product safety and regulatory affairs in Bayer CropScience and for product supply and product quality in Bayer Animal Health and the Pharma division. He is passionate about sustainable agriculture and believes in new technologies to improve and secure agricultural productivity and farmer’s income while minimizing the environmental impact. Equally important is for him the societal acceptance of technologies and the trust in science. Franz-Josef received his PhD in natural science from University of Würzburg (Institute for Pharmacy). He is a pharmacist by training and studied at University of Marburg.

About Biotalys

Biotalys is a rapidly growing and transformative Food and Crop protection company developing a new generation of protein-based biocontrol solutions, shaping the future of sustainable and safe food supply.

Based on its ground-breaking technology platform, the Company has developed a broad pipeline of effective and safe products with novel modes of action, addressing key crop pests and diseases across the whole value chain, from soil to plate.

Biotalys’ unique protein-based biocontrols combine the high-performance characteristics and consistency of chemicals with the clean safety profile of biologicals, making them ideal crop protection agents for both pre- and post-harvest applications. The Company is on track to launch its first biofungicide in the US in 2022, followed by global market introductions.

Biotalys was founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and has raised €61 million to date from specialist international investors. The Company is based in the biotech cluster in Ghent, Belgium. More information can be found on www.biotalys.com.

For further information, please contact Marieke Vermeersch, Corporate Communications Consultant T: +32 (0)9 261 06 84 E: marieke.vermeersch@biotalys.com