Bayer enters into agreement with Oerth Bio for crop protection innovations

Bayer and agricultural biotechnology company Oerth Bio today announced an agreement to develop crop protection products. According to information from the companies, the protein degradation technology used by Oerth Bio has the potential to generate products that reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. This is achieved through greater precision, as the molecules will be directed against specific target cells.

Oerth Bio LLC is a joint venture created by Bayer CropScience LP and Arvinas Inc in the state of Delaware (USA), in 2019. Each of the legal entities holds 50% of the shares. Bayer classifies it in its investment body "Leaps by Bayer". Arvinas is a biotechnology company developing targeted protein degradation therapies -- with medical applications.

Initially developed to combat human diseases such as cancer, the Protac protein degradation technology (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera) can be used in agricultural solutions.

"The world's farmers need reliable and sustainable solutions to crop protection challenges, and Protac protein degradation technologies show an increasingly promising path forward for a new way to develop tailored technologies," said Dr. Robert Reiter , Head of R&D at Bayer Crop Science Division.

"We hope that protein degradation technology, already used in medicine, will be an important cornerstone for the development of new crop protection products that significantly reduce the impact on the environment. Oerth Bio's work has proven promising, and We look forward to what the next phase of our work together will bring.”

Oerth Bio's targeted protein degraders offer the ability to develop high-precision products, low application rates, and pathways to overcome biological resistance.

The molecules developed by the company are designed to interact with just one target protein. And safeguard other organisms. According to information from Bayer, Protac molecules activate a specific process that occurs naturally within the target species. Scientists believe in the product's precise and limited potential to disrupt specific processes in weeds, diseases or insects that negatively impact crops.

The Protac brand is registered by Arvinas Inc in the United States. In Brazil, there are still no orders in classes 5 and 42.