Innovation and Investment for Tomorrow

It takes between 10-12 years and approximately $300 million to develop a new active ingredient (AI) for agricultural and nonfood use markets, including public health and pest control, Syngenta reports.

But did you know that a large portion of this time and money is spent developing and testing specific product formulations and packaging to ensure you get what you need to be successful in the field?

It’s true. While it takes scientists from different backgrounds several years to synthesize and optimize new molecules into potent, bio-effective AIs, it takes entomologists another four to five years to determine which urban pests the AI controls best at which dose and delivery methods. A collaboration between formulation chemists and product biology experts ensures the best formulation types provide the greatest benefits to pest management professionals (PMPs).

“All these things need to be figured out,” explains Bert Wagemans, Dipl.-Ing./MSc, product biology technical manager for Syngenta Professional Solutions, which develops products for the pest control, turf and ornamental markets. He leads this process for the North American Syngenta headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Scientists at Syngenta Professional Solutions conduct about 700 experiments each year. About 300 of these trials are specific to pest management, says Wagemans.

The scientists explore early-stage concepts, narrowing down discoveries to find the most viable control solutions. They run trials on a whole spectrum of pest species and in various parts of the country to account for different climate conditions and regional pest species. At the start of a new AI development project, they also start to monitor for insect resistance.

This is important to assure professional pest management companies that new product solutions fit pest management strategies to help avoid insect resistance. The data they collect and analyze influences product marketing, federal and state registrations, even the training that PMPs receive when new products launch.

Some of this work is performed by Dr. Raj Saran, a global product biology expert at the Syngenta Vero Beach Research Center in Florida. Dr. Saran specializes in pest management and vector control.

On any given day, he screens the efficacy of new chemicals, pheromones, biological products and even digital sensors on pests like ants, cockroaches, bed bugs and mosquitoes. He determines which formulations of early-stage AI perform better under specific conditions and what the best mechanism for delivering them are. He then provides feedback so formulation chemists can improve product delivery and performance.

Syngenta recently invested more than $2 million in the Vero Beach Research Center to speed up the discovery and development of pest management products.

Now, the team can maintain thousands of insects at the center to use for in-house product testing. With new automated equipment, they can precisely spray insecticide on countless panels representing different substrates each day. And they can better track how insects behave and interact with products thanks to a new video recording system that simultaneously captures insect movement in 16 different arenas.

Previously, Syngenta outsourced some of these tasks. Consolidating everything under one roof means products get to market sooner.

“Any new concept, we can turn around very fast now. This speeds up the decision-making process,” says Dr. Saran.

The work Syngenta does in other industries plays a key role, as well.

“Being tied to a multibillion-dollar agricultural company benefits us tremendously when it comes to research and development (R&D),” says Marshall Gaster, head of marketing for Professional Pest Management at Syngenta. Collaborating early on with the Syngenta crop protection group helps scientists advance products for pest control that otherwise would take too long and be too expensive to bring to this market, he explains.

“Having a seat at the table from the get-go means we are very well vetted in our research and development process at Syngenta Professional Solutions,” assures Wagemans.

Packaging, Production Investments.

Syngenta also has committed resources to help scientists devise product packaging that is more durable and easier for PMPs to use.

It recently invested more than $1 million to buy an advanced 3D printer, which not only prints package prototypes faster, but can print parts of packages, like caps, when needed. It also gives scientists more flexibility to make improvements to package designs further along in the development process.

For instance, the original jar design for Advion^® MicroFlow insect bait did not contain a scoop until customer feedback prompted a closer look. Because of the 3D printer, scientists could quickly explore scoop prototypes, zeroing in on the best design to help customers maximize every ounce of the dry flowable bait.

On the production front, Syngenta recently invested millions of dollars in state-of-the-art equipment to produce gel baits. This has doubled the capacity to meet growing demand for these products. In addition to setting higher industry standards for gel bait quality, consistency and reliability, the equipment will allow Syngenta scientists to pioneer new gel technologies.

Eyes Forward.

“One of the things that differentiates Syngenta from a lot of the other chemical manufacturers in our industry is that we have an R&D pipeline that is always churning,” says Gaster.

To this point, the company is planning to launch a new AI for the pest control market in 2025.

“Our pests in the urban space tend to develop resistance to certain chemistries over the years,” says Wagemans. “And if you have a new chemistry, which can break that resistance and is very effective and has a different mode of action, that is very good news for the pest control industry.”

New active ingredients and formulations are essential to keep pests in check, especially when a changing climate and the global movement of people and goods are helping some pest populations to expand.

Syngenta is committed to providing inventive products that can’t be replicated. The uniquely developed, high-quality formulations are a direct result of the continual investment Syngenta makes in R&D advancements.

This commitment ensures PMPs will have the tools and the confidence to solve pest issues going forward.

“Our investment in R&D ensures a continuation of new products and new solutions coming to our customers,” says Dr. Saran.

For more information, visit SyngentaPMP.com

All photos are either the property of Syngenta or are used with permission.

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