Aphea.Bio and Bayer partner on bioinsecticides for sap-sucking pests

Aphea.Bio is a Belgian agricultural biotechnology company founded as a spinout of the research institute VIB, Ghent University and KU Leuven. It develops microbial-based products for crop protection and crop nutrition, screening microbes and the molecules they produce for agronomic activity.

Microbial natural products are molecules produced by microbes such as bacteria and fungi. Because they are isolated compounds rather than living cells, they can be formulated for longer shelf life and more predictable field performance than many live biological products.

It focuses on sap-sucking insects, chiefly aphids and thrips, which spread plant viruses. Early development covers pome and stone fruit, citrus and grapes, with later expansion planned into vegetables and row crops such as cotton and soybean.

Aphea.Bio provides discovery and early screening through its MNP platform. Bayer brings development capacity, regulatory expertise and a global distribution network. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the agreement.

Biological inputs are among the fastest-growing segments of crop protection as synthetic actives face tighter regulation and resistance spreads. Non-living microbial derivatives could narrow the performance gap with conventional chemistry, broadening the commercial appeal of biologicals.