BASF will build new plant for phytosanitary products in Ludwigshafen

BASF has announced an investment of millions of euros in a new fermentation plant for biological and biotech crop protection products in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Products such as biological fungicides and biological seed treatments will be produced in the new structure.

The company also plans to use the plant to produce the main component of Inscalis, new insecticide derived from a fungal strain. Commissioning is scheduled for the second half of 2025. The factory will employ 30 people in production, logistics, engineering and maintenance.

The plant will use microorganisms to convert renewable raw materials, such as glucose, into the desired products: a process known as fermentation.

“We see a growing demand for biological crop protection products. This investment is an important step in building an even stronger and more competitive portfolio in this area,” he said. Marko Grozdanovic, senior vice president of global strategic marketing at BASF Agricultural Solutions.

“Furthermore, fermentation is a very flexible technology that will allow us to bring more innovative biotechnology-derived products to the market in the future.”

“For production at our Ludwigshafen site, this development is a further step in the transition to innovative, less energy-intensive manufacturing processes based on renewable raw materials,” he said. Christian Aucoin, senior vice president of global operations at BASF Agricultural Solutions.

“The location offers excellent synergies due to its good infrastructure, integration into an existing high-performance production organization and proximity to research units such as White Biotechnology.”

About Inscalis (afidopyropene; afidopyropen)

Inscalis, a trademark for the molecule afidopyropene (afidopyropen), is an option offered by BASF for insect control. The development of Inscalis was a joint effort between the Kitasato Institute, Meiji Seika Pharma and BASF. It all started with the discovery of the natural product pyripyropene A which was synthetically modified to produce afidopyropene. The new chemical class, pyropenes, offers an alternative mode of action.

According to scientific literature, the chemical class of pyripyropenes was discovered by Ōmura and collaborators in the early 1990s. Pyripyropenes were isolated for the first time from the fermentation broth of Aspergillus fumigatus FO-1289, later from Penicillium griseofulvum F19592 and Penicillium coprobium by Meiji Seika Pharma. The common structural motif of more than 20 pyripyropenes known today features a sesquiterpene moiety (meroterpenoid), a fused α-pyrone and a pyridine/phenyl ring. The highly oxygenated skeleton consists of eight contiguous stereocenters. Structural variations arise mainly from different degrees of hydroxylation and esterification.

The best overall performance among pyripyropene derivatives was found for Inscalis through intensive field studies, the scientists explain. It showed high activity against various piercing and sucking insects. It has shown broad coverage for controlling many aphid species, reduced virus transmission through stopping rapid feeding, and had activity against whiteflies, leafhoppers, jassids, and certain psyllids. This activity resulted in high efficacy at low application rates with long residual performance, comment the researchers.

Afidopyropene (afidopyropen) is a novel, potent and specific modulator of insect TRPV (transient receptor potential vanilloid-type) channels and modulates the insect chordotonal organ. This Mode of Action (MoA) makes Inscalis the "only member in the new 9D Subgroup Mode of Action (IRAC)." There is no known cross-resistance to commercial insecticides.

In total, the Inscalis production process consists of four stages. The first three – fermentation, downstream and synthesis – produce Inscalis, the technical grade active ingredient (tgai). The last stage of formulation transforms tgai into an insecticidal product, sold as Versys, Sefina and Ventigra.

The synthesis of "tgai is a unique process for BASF, as Inscalis is the first tgai in the BASF portfolio that uses the combination of white biotechnology and chemical synthesis", say the researchers.