UK-based agri-biotech startup SOLASTA Bio, which specialises in the next generation of green insecticides, has secured $14 million in Series A funding. This follows the £4 million funding raised last year and brings the total raised by the company to $19 million.
Investment details
The oversubscribed round was led by Forbion (which backed Complement Therapeutics) via its BioEconomy fund strategy, with co-lead investment from agricultural strategics FMC Ventures (FMC Corporation) and Corteva Inc., through its Corteva Catalyst platform. Participation from existing investors included Cavallo Ventures (Wilbur-Ellis), Rubio Impact Ventures (which recently backed Vytal and NoPalm Ingredients), Scottish Enterprise (which recently invested in Nami Surgical), UKi2S, SIS Ventures, and the University of Glasgow.
In addition to the investment, Joy Faucher from Forbion will join the company’s board of directors.
SOLASTA Bio will use the funding to accelerate the development of the first-of-its-kind peptide-based, nature-inspired bioinsecticides. The company will continue to advance its technology platform and pipeline of insect control agents, targeting a $27 billion annual market opportunity.
In parallel, it will continue to build out its US operations, having already established a base in North Carolina, expand its real-world field trials across key geographies, scale up its biomanufacturing capabilities, and further develop strategic opportunities including applications beyond crop use.
What challenge does it tackle?
The global insecticides market is currently dominated by synthetic chemicals, which reportedly account for 94% of insect control solutions. While 75% of food crops are dependent on pollinator insects, other insects cause enormous social, health, and economic damage accounting for at least $70 billion in US crop losses alone. However, the insecticide market is under increasing pressure from widespread insect resistance, lack of species specificity, increasing regulatory controls, and consumer preferences for non-chemical residues.
Realising the urgent need to protect pollinators and wildlife while boosting agricultural productivity, SOLASTA Bio aims to lead the transition toward sustainable crop protection.
Develops eco-friendly insecticides
SOLASTA Bio is co-founded by CEO Shireen Davies and CSO Prof. Julian Dow and brings together a leadership team of technical and agrochemical industry specialists including Daphne Preuss, Paula Pinto, David Armour, and Rob Wylie.
The company has developed the world’s first technology platform for creating neuropeptide-based insect control products that are nature-inspired rather than selected from a synthetic chemistry library. These products effectively target insect pests while preserving beneficial pollinators such as bees in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. Disturbance of target physiological processes by neuropeptide-based ICAs leads to a reduction in pest species. SOLASTA Bio’s platform can be mobilised for any pest of interest.
In the several successful trials in 2023, SOLASTA Bio’s unique insect control agents demonstrated efficacy on par or better than commercial standards across 20+ field trials on multiple crops in Europe, the UK and US.
The company is targeting market entry as early as 2027, at least half the time traditionally taken by synthetic pest control products, demonstrating a significant advantage of the platform technology.
Shireen Davies PhD, FRSE, CEO and co-founder, SOLASTA Bio stated: “SOLASTA Bio has come a long way since we set out on this journey 3 years ago. Having established operations in the UK and US, we’ve now got an international team with outstanding competencies in technology and agribusiness and, importantly, we have developed our unique technology platform to address grower pain points. The results of our field trials have been hugely encouraging, demonstrating high efficacy of biopeptides against target insect pests, as effective or better than standard insecticides. With Series A now secured, it’s time for SOLASTA Bio to kick on to the next level and successfully hit our targets for commercialisation.”
Investors’ views
Joy Faucher, Partner at Forbion BioEconomy stated: “As traditional insect control agents struggle with resistance and impact to biodiversity, SOLASTA is poised to revolutionise the crop protection market at a critical time, with a cost-effective, sustainable, and high-efficacy alternative that can be adopted seamlessly by farmers. The team’s deep expertise in insect neuropeptide modalities, their differentiated tech platform, and proven real-world data provide a unique position to launch a series of first-in-class products that can redefine the agriculture industry.”
Mark Brooks, Managing Director, FMC Ventures commented: “SOLASTA’s nature-inspired approach to insect control is a game changer in crop protection. Their approach addresses the critical issue of insect resistance while also supporting the goal of preserving pollinators and biodiversity. We have been in contact with SOLASTA for a long time, assessing their potential to benefit crop protection. FMC Ventures is proud to co-lead this funding round and accelerate progress towards more sustainable inputs in crop protection.”
Tom Greene, Senior Director and Global Leader, Corteva Catalyst commented: “SOLASTA is a critical player in the rapidly expanding market for nature-inspired crop health products – particularly in the peptide technology space. They are driving the type of sustainable innovation necessary to advance the next generation of biological and naturally inspired crop protection technologies, and Corteva Catalyst is pleased to stand alongside SOLASTA as a co-lead investor in this funding round.”
