Mycogen Poised To Launch New Generation of Biopesticides

Abstract

Growing concern over health effects and the environmental safety of chemical pesticides is leading to increased interest in finding alternatives. Biopesticides, based on naturally occurring insect or plant toxins, are emerging as a means for more environmentally benign pest control. Mycogen, an agricultural biotechnology company located in San Diego, is nearing commercialization of a new generation of biopesticides. Biopesticides have been commercially available for about 20 years but have had only a minor impact on the nearly $20 billion worldwide pesticide market. In 1989, biopesticides accounted for less than 1% of the $5 billion U.S. pesticide market, according to Montgomery Securities, an investment banking firm in San Francisco. Available products primarily consist of pyrethroids and insect toxins isolated from strains of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis , or Bt. The limited commercial success of biopesticides is related in part to their rapid degradation in the environment. This leads to incons...