MOA and Nufarm collaborate on innovative herbicide solution

Agricultural biotech firm Moa Technology has entered into a research and commercial partnership with Melbourne-based crop protection company Nufarm. This collaboration seeks to address the growing threat of weed resistance to herbicides.

Moa Technology, leveraging its proprietary biological platform, has discovered several novel herbicidal modes of action, currently undergoing field trials in the US, UK, France, and Spain. Nufarm will gain exclusive access to develop and commercialize a product from one of these promising modes of action. In exchange, Moa will receive upfront payments, milestone development payments, and eventual royalties from the herbicide sales, which could introduce the first new broad-spectrum agricultural herbicide in nearly forty years. Additionally, Nufarm retains the option to commercialize other Moa compounds within the same mode of action area.

The joint effort will see Moa and Nufarm steering the product through the next phase of research, expected to last around two years, with Nufarm leading the final development and market launch phases.

Founded in 2017 as a spin-out from Oxford University, Moa Technology has developed a platform to discover new synthetic and bio-herbicidal compounds. Over the past three years, Moa’s platform has screened over 750,000 compounds, identifying 60 novel modes of action, with several candidates progressing to field trials.