Biotalys raises €12.05M from existing investors to advance protein-based biofungicide pipeline

Biotalys, the Belgian agricultural biotechnology company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions, has secured €12.05 million through a private placement of new shares with existing institutional investors — giving the Euronext-listed firm the runway it needs to pursue European Union regulatory approval for its lead biofungicide, EVOCA, and advance its next-generation follow-on product.

The placement, closed in May 2026, issued 7,875,811 new shares at €1.53 per share — a 40% discount to the volume-weighted average price for the prior 30 days. Participating investors include Ackermans & van Haaren, Agri Investment Fund, ASR Vermogensbeheer, Gimv, PMV, Sofinnova Industrial Biotech I and the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). Carlo Boutton, Biotalys’ interim chief executive, described the raise as a demonstration of continued confidence by the company’s core investor base.

Proceeds are allocated to four near-term milestones: EU regulatory approval of EVOCA, the company’s first-generation protein-based biofungicide targeting botrytis and powdery mildew; product registration of EVOCA in California; advancing BioFun-6 field trials; and scaling manufacturing through a strategic partnership with Danish precision fermentation company 21st.BIO.

Biotalys’ AGROBODY platform uses engineered proteins derived from nanobody technology — a class of single-domain antibody fragments originally identified in camelid immune systems — to target specific crop pathogens and pests with precision that the company argues approaches the consistency of synthetic chemistry while carrying the environmental and residue profile of biological products. EVOCA NG, the second-generation successor, is not expected to reach U.S. markets until 2028–2029 and EU markets until 2029–2030.

The company also holds active collaborations with Syngenta on a bioinsecticide program, the Gates Foundation on BioFun-7 (a biofungicide targeting staple crops in lower-income markets), and AgroFresh on post-harvest applications.

The €12.05 million raise is modest by the standards of late-stage agtech capital rounds but is in line with a broader shift in investor behavior toward tighter, milestone-anchored financing for biocontrol developers rather than the large pre-commercial rounds seen earlier in the decade. Biotalys’ commercial success will hinge on whether EVOCA’s regulatory path in Europe and California clears before current cash is exhausted, and on the progress of 21st.BIO’s fermentation scale-up in bringing manufacturing costs to competitive levels.

Source: GlobeNewswire