Telluris Biotech plans to raise 12mn US $ by March 2023

HYDERABAD, 28 January 2023: Telluris Biotech, a Hyderabad-based company engaged in the manufacturing and supply of crop protection solutions for farmers and growers receives Biochemical Classification it received from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

The USEPA is the Agency responsible for the registration of safe and sustainable products in the United States of America, informed Venu Polineni, Founder and the Managing Director of Telluris Biotech India Pvt. Ltd, addressing a press conference in Hyderabad on Friday. 

It is the world's first True Bio-Nematocide to get referral by the Biochemical Classification Committee Venu added.

Giving the company's achievements on multiple fronts Venu Polineni said Telluris Biotech product technology received referral by the Biochemical classification committee ("the Committee") of the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA").

The Committee is a key referral body under the Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD) of the USEPA. The biochemical classification is the first and the most important step in the technology evaluation where the technology is evaluated for its claims to be registered as Biopesticides.

Biopesticides are presumed to be safe and act in harmony with nature, unlike conventional chemical pesticide molecules which are known for their deleterious effects.  

Giving details about the company Venu said that they have raised so far US $ 3 million from Innovation in Food and Agri Fund.  They have currently 130 resources working. The number will be raised to 225 by the end of 2024.  They plan to raise 12 million Series A Funding by end of March 2023.  We have 8 products in Indian market. They are bio stimiulants.  They are used for cotton, Chillis, Turmeric and others, he stated.  

The inventiveness of the technologies Telluris Biotech worked upon to control the plant parasitic nematodes:  Plant parasitic nematodes cause an average of 12.3 percent annual yield loss ($ 157 billion) of the world's major crops and have become a serious concern for which farmers are eagerly waiting for safe sustainable solutions.

 Telluris Biotech has developed three nematicides technologies and is developing products from these technologies. These products are intended to make a significant impact on productivity and quality of crops across major agricultural markets like India, USA, EU, LATAM and ECOWAS regions shortly.

The company filed 39 patent applications in 13 major agriculture markets. 19 patent applications are granted in 11 geographies: USA, EU, Japan, India and China etc, to name a few.

Patents are the most important instrument of protection for technologies under the world trade regime as it derives from the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Properties rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Patents are an instrument of protection while entering the world market with a product of huge value and developed by investing a significant amount of time, money and other resources. 

Telluris Biotech is also a formidable player in the Indian market with specialty nutrition products of Bio-stimulants. Bio-stimulants are a much-discussed topic in the field of fertilisers, nowadays. The government of India is the first country in the world which has acknowledged and notified an administrative instrument to regulate the manufacture and sale of Bio-stimulants in India. The Bio-stimulants owing to their potential to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers and provide sustenance to plants in abnormal environmental conditions have drawn attention to all the established players in the field of Agriculture input chemicals. Telluris Biotech has received provisional registration for its Biostimulant products which are crucial for manufacturing and selling Bio-stimulants in India. 

Bio-stimulant regulation is new in India and notified in the year 2021 only. The regulatory mechanism is under development and evolving swiftly.  Telluris Biotech, to keep pace with time has focused on developing multiple products in the category of Amino acids and protein hydrolysate of Bio-stimulant 

Telluris Biotech is living up to its philosophy and commitment to "Protecting What The World Sows" envisions:  to bring safe, sustainable, and effective products in the field of crop insect pest management. To begin with, Telluris Biotech is bringing the plant parasitic nematode control products to address the problem which is plaguing agriculture with its vast range of species diversity and hosts. The tiny slender microscopic worm, the nematode, has 28,000 species and 16,000 species that are parasitic to crop plants. Alone the species of Meloidogyne incognita, an endoparasitic Root Knot Nematode (RKN), has a host range of 2000 plants. Nematodes alone or in combination with other soil microorganisms attack almost every part of the plant including roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. 

Also, its vision is to optimise the use of chemical fertilisers, without disrupting the yield and quality of the crop produced. Increase the nutrient use efficacy along with reducing the carbon footprint by reducing the greenhouse gas emission by its product.