Alachua, FL– Pasteuria Bioscience, a Florida based agricultural biotech company, announced today that it has completed the $ 5.3 million closing of a series B financing round led by LSP BioVentures who joined existing Series A investors, Advantage Capital and Gordon River Capital.
Pasteuria Bioscience has developed a cost-effective process for the in vitro production of Pasteuria bacteria, a naturally occurring predator of nematodes. Long regarded as one of
the last unmet needs in modern crop protection, Pasteuria has developed an efficacious, environmentally friendly solution for control of plant parasitic nematodes. This ability to
produce Pasteuria sp. in vitro will result in economically significant control of plant parasitic nematodes in a variety of crops and applications in the United States.
“We are excited to have the funding necessary as we transition our products and company from research and development to sales and marketing. We are looking forward to the value that both the existing investors and LSP BioVentures will bring as enter into this new phase of the company’s growth,”said Kelly Smith, CEO of Pasteuria Bioscience.
“We value their belief in our company and our ability to provide a solution for a long standing problem in agriculture production.”
Jorg Riesmeier, General Partner at LSP BioVentures and new Board member of Pasteuria Bioscience, commented: “We are very excited about leading the Series B in Pasteuria Bioscience. The company has done a fantastic job of advancing the ability to produce Pasteuria sp. in vitro, and we look forward to being part of the team as they begin the transition to production and marketing of their products.”
“Pasteuria is nature’s way of controlling nematodes,” said Tim Cockshutt, managing director with Advantage Capital, a current investor. “We can prevent nematodes from destroying crops without damaging the overall environment in the slightest.”
Current investor Richard Molloy of Gordon River Capital looks forward to the next phase of Pasteuria Bioscience’s growth. “It is exciting to see a company like Pasteuria Bioscience, with the combination of a strong team and great science, take this next step towards reaching the market with a long awaited solution to the problem of effective nematode control.”
http://www.biotech.ufl.org/pubs/PresRel_2May07_Pasteuria.pdf