Renaissance BioScience biopesticide wins innovation recognition

Renaissance BioScience has won Crop Protection Solution of the Year in the fifth annual Global Awards program conducted by AgTech Breakthrough, a market intelligence organization that recognizes innovation in global agriculture and food technology.

Renaissance has developed and is commercializing a yeast-based, sustainable RNA interference (RNAi) precision biopesticide platform technology that can be customized to target pests.

“The Renaissance team is thrilled to be awarded AgTech Breakthrough’s 2024 Crop Protection Solution of the Year for our revolutionary yeast-based RNAi biopesticide technology,” John Husnik, Renaissance CEO and chief science officer, said in a news release. “Our Renaissance environmentally friendly solution is elegant and precise and can be applied to develop unique biopesticides targeting many different pest species. It also addresses important RNAi challenges such as the ability to manufacture at scale, durability, efficacy and cost.”

Renaissance’s technology can be used to express specific RNAi bioeffector molecules in yeast strains. Target sequences for different pests can be developed and inserted, creating customized strains, according to the release. These strains are inactivated prior to product formulation and can be manufactured at scale for low cost.

Once the inert yeast is consumed by the target pest, the RNAi bioeffectors are released inside the insect, silencing the target genes and killing the pest. Any residual yeast degrades in the environment.

The platform has successfully targeted the Colorado potato beetle, resistant to many pesticides, according to the release.

“Almost 40% of annual crop production is lost due to pests, with billions of dollars also lost due to invasive insects,” Bryan Vaughn, AgTech Breakthrough managing director, said. “More effective yet environmentally friendly pest management, strategies and solutions are needed to address this type of crop destruction.

“Renaissance’s ‘plug and play’ system harnesses the power of yeast as an innovation engine to address these challenges.”

The AgTech Breakthrough Awards program recognizes companies in categories including including farm management, indoor farming, IoT and robotics, food tech and analytics. This year’s program attracted thousands of nominations from 15 countries, according to the release.