T3 BioScience Inc., a Milwaukee biotech firm and partner with the UW–Milwaukee Research Foundation, announced this week that RejuAgro, a groundbreaking biopesticide for apples and citrus, could soon be available for use on U.S. farms.
The company has begun the environmental and toxicological testing required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is expected that all mandated EPA studies will be completed by the end of this year.
T3’s proprietary discovery methodology helped researchers develop the biocontrol agent called RejuAgro in 2018 from a natural metabolite extracted from a novel bacterium in the soil. It will protect nine crops, including apples and citrus, from 11 diseases, such as citrus canker and Huanglongbing (also known as citrus greening).
RejuAgro matches the protection levels of conventional agricultural antibiotics without the negative side effects of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, the company said. T3 CEO Daniel Burgin said with the EPA tests, the company has initiated RejuAgro’s final commercialization phase.
T3 has raised significant funds from private investors to develop RejuAgro and complete the safety and toxicity studies necessary for use on apple and citrus crops.
