Syngenta and Ascribe Bioscience have signed a landmark development and supply agreement for PHYTALIX, an innovative biofungicide designed to strengthen crop resistance against fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases.

 

Under the agreement, Syngenta will gain exclusive commercial rights to PHYTALIX for rice and other major crops across Southeast Asia, with the potential to expand into additional regions in the future.

 

The partnership follows four years of extensive validation trials conducted by Syngenta, during which PHYTALIX demonstrated strong performance against key crop diseases, including Bacterial Leaf Blight, while delivering consistent and significant yield improvements in rice. The results position the product as a valuable addition to integrated pest management (IPM) programs.

 

Developed from discoveries at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, PHYTALIX works by mimicking plants’ natural defense processes, helping crops such as rice, soybeans, corn, and wheat build stronger resistance to a broad range of pathogens throughout the growing season.

 

The agreement comes at a critical time for rice production. As the staple food for nearly half the world’s population, rice faces mounting pressure from climate stress, emerging diseases, and increasing pathogen resistance. 

 

The companies say PHYTALIX will provide growers with a sustainable new tool that bridges the gap between conventional crop protection products and biological solutions.

 

With high stability, low application rates, and a novel mode of action, PHYTALIX is designed to combat a wide spectrum of pathogens and can be adopted by farms of all sizes. The product is expected to play a key role in tackling complex diseases such as Bacterial Leaf Blight in rice.

 

“The collaboration with Ascribe reflects our commitment to bringing farmers differentiated solutions that help them implement more efficient farming strategies and more modern farming approaches by combined use of conventional and biological products,” said Emilhano Lima, Syngenta’s Global Head Seedcare and Biologicals. 

 

"Partnering with other innovators in the industry is crucial to accelerate the delivery of biological solutions to the farmers who need them most," concluded Syngenta’s Lima.

 

Jay Farmer, cofounder and CEO of Ascribe, added: "By partnering with Syngenta in Asia, we’re able to bring this innovation out of the lab and into the hands of farmers who need new, sustainable options to manage crop diseases. Syngenta’s partnership represents strong validation of the global potential for PHYTALIX."

 

The companies will now move forward with regulatory registration and market development efforts across the covered Asian markets. The first commercial launches of PHYTALIX are planned for 2029.