Ghent, BELGIUM and New York, US – May 04, 2021 — Biotalys, an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company focused on addressing food protection challenges to enable a more sustainable and safer food supply, today announced its inclusion in Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards. These awards honor the products, concepts, companies, policies, and designs that are pursuing innovation for the good of society and the planet.
“There is no question our society and planet are facing deeply troubling times. So, it’s important to recognize organizations that are using their ingenuity, impact, design, scalability, and passion to solve these problems,” noted Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists, under the leadership of senior editor Morgan Clendaniel, have discovered some of the most groundbreaking projects that are playing an important role in building a better world.”
Biotalys was selected based on its role in providing alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides by developing protein-based biocontrol solutions, including its initial accomplishments for its first biofungicide, Evoca™*. Evoca aims to provide fruit and vegetable growers with a novel mode of action to help control key pathogens in selected crops, hereby combining the performance characteristics and consistency of chemicals in integrated pest management (IPM) programs with the clean safety profile of biologicals. Biotalys’ crop and food protection agents target both pre- and post-harvest applications to support the move towards safer, more sustainable food production.
“There is an urgent need for more sustainable food production, and we are honored that Fast Company recognizes the tremendous importance of evolving food protection practices,” said Luc Maertens, Chief Operations Officer of Biotalys. “Powered by its technology platform, Biotalys is creating a broad pipeline of antibody-derived biocontrol solutions to effectively and safely address key crop pests and diseases across the whole value chain – from soil to plate. This great honor strengthens our team’s resolve to continue to build and develop our pipeline of transformative biocontrol solutions.”
Now in its fifth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcases some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling exigent global challenges, which will be featured in Fast Company’s Summer 2021 issue. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 4,000 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, and more. Plus, several new categories were added, including Pandemic Response, Urban Design, and Architecture. The 2021 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Brazil to Denmark to Vietnam.
* Evoca™ (formerly named BioFun-1): Pending Registration. This product is not currently registered for sale or use in the European Union, the United States or elsewhere and is not being offered for sale.
About the World Changing Ideas Awards
World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.
About Biotalys
Biotalys is an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company focused on addressing food protection challenges with protein-based biocontrol solutions for a more sustainable and safer food supply. Based on its novel AGROBODY™ technology platform, Biotalys is developing a strong and diverse pipeline of effective products with a favorable safety profile that aim to address key crop pests and diseases across the whole value chain, from soil to plate. Biotalys was founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and has raised €62.8 million (US$74,9 million) to date from Belgian and international specialized 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
Toon Musschoot, Strategic Communications Manager
T: +32 (0)9 274 54 00
E: Toon.Musschoot@biotalys.com
Erica Camilo
Connexa Communications
T: +1 (610) 639 5644
E: erica@connexacommunications.com