Company seeks swine producers to run commercial trials

WOBURN, Mass., Dec. 5, 2019 – Agrivida, a privately held biotechnology company, today announces the availability of its innovative GRAINZYME® Phytase enzyme feed additive for use in swine operations following receipt of GRAS status from the Food and Drug Administration.  Already a proven commercial success in over 50 million chickens, the corn-based enzyme offers a more convenient, nutritious, and sustainable phytase than previously available.  Thanks to its high enzyme concentration, only 2 to 4 pounds of ground GRAINZYME corn is needed per ton of feed to conveniently deliver “super dosed” levels of phytase in animal feeds.  Since the phytase is embedded in corn, nutrient credits are also provided, thus saving “nutrient space” in the ration.  Compared to traditional phytase products, GRAINZYME Phytase is expected to offer swine producers similar benefits to those observed commercially in poultry–including improved nutrition, feed conversion, and animal performance, together with a very favorable return on investment.

“After the exceptional results of GRAINZYME Phytase in commercial poultry operations, achieving GRAS status in swine now allows us to continue to implement our strategic plans,” says Rajiv Singh, interim CEO at Agrivida. “Our next steps include pelleting trials, animal performance studies comparing GRAINZYME Phytase to traditional phytases, and trials using varying doses of phytase together with diets of differing nutritional specifications to determine optimum performance.”

Swine producer, The Maschhoffs to participate in commercial evaluation

The largest family-owned pig producer in North America, The Maschhoffs, will be one of the first swine operations to evaluate GRAINZYME Phytase commercially.  “Super dosing is a very interesting topic,” says Bradley Wolter, Ph.D., president and CEO of The Maschhoffs, who also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “That’s the big advantage that GRAINZYME offers and why we’re bullish on the technology and have invested in Agrivida. We are pleased to be on the forefront evaluating this new product because we think it may deliver the enzyme to the hind gut. This will be exciting to assess.”

Other swine producers invited to participate

Agrivida will now conduct research at scale in thousands of pigs from the grower through finisher stages, which will also help determine the optimum phytase dosing throughout the swine life cycle.  Due to their immature digestive systems, young pigs particularly benefit from feed enzyme supplementation.  For example, three feeding studies with weaned piglets and young growing pigs published earlier this year in the Journal of Animal Science demonstrated GRAINZYME Phytase provided improvements in growth performance, digestibility of calcium and phosphorous, and bone parameters.  As an added bonus, swine producers should also benefit from a more sustainable environmental footprint.

“We welcome additional swine producers to participate using GRAINZYME Phytase in their commercial operations,” says Michael Lanahan, Ph.D., chief commercial officer at Agrivida and one of the scientists involved in its development.  “Since pigs and chickens are both monogastric species, I fully anticipate we’ll observe the same high-value proposition in swine that we’re now seeing in commercial poultry operations.”

Swine operators interested in conducting trials with the product at scale can contact Agrivida via the website contact form at Agrivida.com or by calling (781) 391-1262.

The Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, a growth-stage private equity fund dedicated to providing capital to agribusiness companies throughout rural America, announces a lead investment in Agrivida’s current round of financing. The $8 million first close includes $3 million from Open Prairie and participation from existing investors including ARCH Venture Partners, Batios Holdings Limited, Cultivian Sandbox, Syngenta Ventures, Maschhoff’s Agricultural Holdings and Middleland Capital. The new funding will facilitate expansion of the Agrivida research and development platform and advancement of the company’s commercialization strategy for its GRAINZYME® Phytase technology into the global poultry and swine markets.

Agrivida, headquartered in Village of Four Seasons, Missouri, is an animal health and nutrition company that focuses on development of feed additives for poultry, swine, dairy and beef cattle and aquaculture. Agrivida’s GRAINZYME® Phytase expresses enzymes and proteins by utilizing plants as the core manufacturing and delivery system. This innovative technology has a favorable sustainability profile while also providing increased value and profitability to producers. “Agrivida’s sustainability focus on animal feed has unlocked the power of the corn kernel to enhance the production and delivery of beneficial enzymes and other nutrients while improving the environment by reducing levels of nitrogen and phosphorus,” said Open Prairie’s founder and managing partner, Jim Schultz. “Through strategic collaborations with poultry producers and the introduction of new products for the swine market later this year, Agrivida is well-positioned for significant growth opportunities.”

“Agrivida is pleased to have Open Prairie join the investment syndicate and lead this round. Their network and reach in the agriculture sector is significant and will add value to our strategic initiatives,” said Dan Meagher, President and CEO for Agrivida. “Agrivida has achieved a number of milestones including commercial revenue growth in poultry, approval from the Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine on July 8, 2019 for sale of GRAINZYME® Phytase into US Swine, early stage research and development success for solutions in Animal Health and Ruminant additives and forages. Open Prairie’s commitment to Agrivida, along with our existing investors, positions Agrivida for a very bright future. We plan to secure additional investors for the syndicate as we embark on an exciting phase of expansion for Agrivida.”

About Open Prairie

Open Prairie, based in the heartland of America with headquarters in Effingham, Illinois, is a multi-faceted private equity fund management firm with deep roots in rural America. Founded in 1997, Open Prairie has consistently focused on facilitating capital accessibility in underserved markets. The Open Prairie team has managed funds ranging from technology-based venture capital and private equity to farmland portfolios. Through its expertise across all functional business disciplines and an extensive network of professionals, Open Prairie works in partnership with its portfolio companies to accelerate growth while providing top-tier returns to its investors. For more information about Open Prairie, please visit www.openprairie.com.

About the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund

The Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund is an $81 million private equity fund licensed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC). With a collaborative partnership comprised of investors from Farm Credit institutions, commercial and community banks, strategics, family offices and high net worth individuals committed to advancing rural America, the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund is focused on providing debt and equity capital of $2 – $10 million to growth companies in food and agriculture. For more information on the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, please visit www.openprairie.com.

About Agrivida

Imagine it. Deliver it. Committed to building a better future for everyone, Agrivida scientists are experts in biochemistry, plant biology, molecular biology, agriculture, and nutrition. Dynamically addressing the needs of both animal nutrition and animal health through its unique technology platform, Agrivida is delivering on its promise of innovative new corn products that offer effective, simple, and convenient solutions more sustainably than ever before. The company’s corn-based feed additive, GRAINZYME® Phytase, is just the first of many products that will benefit producers of poultry, swine, dairy and beef cattle, and aquaculture. For additional information, visit www.agrivida.com.

Contacts

Open Prairie
Jason Wrone – +1.217.347.5430
jason@openprairie.com

Kerry will immediately begin marketing GRAINZYME® Phytase for poultry use in U.S.A. market

BELOIT, Wis. and WOBURN, Mass.,—November 8, 2018—Kerry Animal Health & Nutrition and Agrivida announce a new strategic partnership, providing Kerry with rights to promote Agrivida’s pioneering GRAINZYME® Phytase technology for poultry use for the U.S.A. market.

Agrivida’s GRAINZYME® Phytase utilizes a groundbreaking innovative process to produce phytase inside corn kernels. By simply replacing a small amount of regular corn with GRAINZYME® Phytase corn, poultry producers can conveniently and easily introduce phytase into the diets of their flocks. With GRAINZYME® Phytase, producers can feed their flocks significantly higher and more optimal doses of phytase, and thereby greatly improve their business profitability.

“The benefits of GRAINZYME® Phytase have been confirmed in multiple university studies that demonstrate significant poultry performance improvements for flocks fed with GRAINZYME® Phytase corn, compared to those fed traditional phytase enzymes. The results also demonstrate significant cost savings per ton of feed when higher doses of phytase were used. We believe GRAINZYME® Phytase is a novel solution for poultry producers because it increases the value of their flocks without the need for additional feed space. And there’s no requirement for special processing as the functional benefits are contained in the corn,” says Michael Lanahan, Ph.D., chief commercial officer at Agrivida.

This partnership between Kerry Animal Health & Nutrition and Agrivida brings together two important companies in the animal feed market. Kerry’s AlphaGal™ brand is the U.S.A. market leader for non-starch polysaccharide enzymes used in poultry feed, where it significantly enhances the value of poultry feed by improving digestibility and lowering the cost of feed by facilitating the use of alternative raw materials.

“At Kerry, we are committed to leading our customers to better products and continuing to innovate with high performance nutrition solutions for the animal feed market. Complementing our AlphaGal™ range and our gut health portfolio, we are excited to bring GRAINZYME® Phytase to market, reflecting our commitment to cutting-edge science and aligned with our strategy to grow our animal feed business,” says Vilson Simon, global vice president of Kerry Animal Health & Nutrition.

According to Dan Meagher, CEO of Agrivida, “Kerry’s strong reputation and customer marketing strength with their AlphaGal™ enzyme range make them an ideal business partner for us. Together, this partnership will bring significant new value propositions to the poultry industry.”

***

About Kerry Animal Health & Nutrition

Kerry, the Taste & Nutrition company, offers solutions that nourish lives all over the world. From humble beginnings as an Irish dairy co-operative, Kerry has grown into a large international food industry leader, with offices in 30 countries, 135 manufacturing facilities and an employer to over 25,000 people globally, including over 900 food scientists.  We bring to the table our strong food heritage, coupled with 40 years of experience, global insights and market knowledge, culinary and applications expertise as well as our unique solutions to anticipate and address our customers’ needs. With our dedicated Animal Health and Nutrition division, we are passionate about leading our customers to better through using our food and technologies expertise to improve animal health and nutrition globally.  Our diverse portfolio of enzymes, emulsifiers, proteins and nutraceuticals enhance animal nutrition feed by increasing nutritional value, maximizing efficiencies, replacing antibiotics and supporting sustainability. From function to palatability, Kerry’s Animal Health and Nutrition experts are committed to innovating for success. For more information, visit Kerry.com.

About Agrivida

Imagine it. Deliver it. Committed to building a better future for everyone, Agrivida scientists are experts in biochemistry, plant biology, molecular biology, agriculture, and nutrition. Dynamically addressing the needs of both animal nutrition and animal health through its unique technology platform, Agrivida is delivering on its promise of innovative new corn products that offer effective, simple, and convenient solutions more sustainably than ever before. The company’s corn-based feed additive, GRAINZYME® Phytase, is just the first of many products that will benefit producers of poultry, swine, dairy and beef cattle, and aquaculture. For more information, visit Agrivida.com.

New corn has potential to take poultry production to higher levels of productivity, studies show

WOBURN, Mass.,—November 6, 2018—Agrivida, a privately held biotechnology company, today announces the availability of its innovative GRAINZYME® Phytase for use in poultry operations. An industry first, the new enzyme feed additive is delivered in corn, offering a more convenient, nutritious, and responsible phytase than previously available. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), new GRAINZYME Phytase makes it possible for producers to provide their flocks with higher, optimal doses of phytase, enabling them to increase their return on investment by improving bird performance, lowering production expenses, and reducing waste.

GRAINZYME Phytase has potential to transform the industry

“Study results with GRAINZYME Phytase demonstrate in excess of $20 worth of improved animal performance per ton of feed over traditional phytase doses,” says Michael Lanahan, Ph.D., chief commercial officer at Agrivida and one of the scientists involved in its development. “I believe GRAINZYME Phytase has the potential to bring exceptional added value to the poultry industry.

“GRAINZYME Phytase is an elegant solution because the functional benefits of enzymes are built right into the grain,” he continues. “GRAINZYME corn is grown, milled, and then provided to customers for inclusion in animal feed, replacing just a fraction of the traditional corn that producers already feed their flocks. No special processing is required to use it.”

Current phytase production methods come with high operating and capital investment costs, not to mention downstream recovery and formulation costs. Small additions of corn-based GRAINZYME Phytase can deliver high levels of the enzyme to poultry diets, providing producers with a simple, easy, and sustainable alternative that provides substantial benefits over microbially produced phytase.

Strong body of evidence-based data

Over 30 well-controlled studies of GRAINZYME Phytase have been conducted at independent laboratories and multiple universities across the U.S., including the University of Georgia, University of Missouri, N.C. State University, Texas A&M University, West Virginia University, and others.

An important late-stage evaluation of GRAINZYME Phytase took place at West Virginia University which recently invested $1 million in a new feed mill to further support poultry research. The university’s team, headed by Joe Moritz, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and feed manufacturing, helps manufacturers like Agrivida evaluate products for stability and uniformity.

“I’ve known for a long time that there was a lot of excitement about this GRAINZYME corn,” says Moritz. “Other additives may dilute the nutritional content of the feed, but GRAINZYME Phytase doesn’t. This is an easy way to add enzymes because they are delivered in corn–right there in the grain itself. Nutritionists deal with as many as 25 ingredients, so the fact that it’s in corn is very important to them. Having evaluated GRAINZYME Phytase in our laboratory, we have observed product uniformity post-feed mixing, high enzyme activity after steam conditioning and pelleting, and efficacy in broiler feeding studies.”

More innovative products to come using Agrivida’s corn platform

Having shown that it is possible to express a variety of functional proteins at high levels in corn, Agrivida intends to use its corn platform to deliver many different enzymes and to expand the scope of the technology to proteins that may benefit animal health.

About Agrivida

Imagine it. Deliver it. Committed to building a better future for everyone, Agrivida scientists are experts in biochemistry, plant biology, molecular biology, agriculture, and nutrition. Dynamically addressing the needs of both animal nutrition and animal health through its unique technology platform, Agrivida is delivering on its promise of innovative new corn products that offer effective, simple, and convenient solutions more sustainably than ever before. The company’s corn-based feed additive, GRAINZYME® Phytase, is just the first of many products that will benefit producers of poultry, swine, dairy and beef cattle, and aquaculture. For more information, visit Agrivida.com.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—February 9, 2017— TechAccel and Iowa Corn Opportunities today announced separate investments in Agrivida Inc., a St. Louis-based agriculture technology company focused on animal nutrition.

These strategic investments come on the heels of Agrivida’s announcement of a $20.4M Series E financing round completed in September 2016. Terms of TechAccel and Iowa Corn Opportunities investments were not disclosed.

“We see Agrivida and its technology as a great new platform for using corn as a cost-competitive factory for a wide variety of products,” said Brian Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, parent company of Iowa Corn Opportunities.

“Agrivida is poised to create a disruption across enzyme manufacturing and animal nutrition,” said Michael Helmstetter, Ph.D., President and CEO of TechAccel, a venture and technology development firm. “Consistent with the TechAccel business model, we are excited to take a key role in developing the science to expand the potential of Agrivida’s technology.”

Agrivida has a patented technology using protein expression in grain to simplify the process of enzyme production. The company is commercializing its patented GRAINZYME® feed additive enzymes for use with poultry, swine, dairy and beef cattle.

“TechAccel and Iowa Corn Opportunities are partners with the strategic commitment to advance the Agrivida vision,” said Dan Meagher, President and CEO of Agrivida. “Our technology promises improved production efficiency of major food segments, from plants to meat, milk and eggs.”

TechAccel is a venture and technology development company in agriculture and animal health sectors that invests in or acquires new technology and funds science advancement programs with research university partners to assist in commercialization.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association is a 7,500-member agricultural association with a long tradition of supporting Iowa corn farmers in lobbying and agricultural development. The association operates a wholly owned subsidiary, Iowa Corn Opportunities, as an equity fund to make strategic investments to benefit Iowa’s corn growers.

The two firms join a roster of current investors including the University of Texas Investment Management Company, ARCH Venture Partners, Cultivian Sandbox, Middleland Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Northgate Capital.

About Iowa Corn Opportunities

Iowa Corn Opportunities, LLC (ICO) is a limited liability company owned by the Iowa Corn Growers Association® (ICGA). ICO operates as an equity fund set up to assist new and growing companies that are developing businesses that are important to the corn industry. For more information visit, www.iowacornopportunities.com.

About TechAccel

TechAccel, LLC, was founded in 2014 as a first-of-its-kind venture and technology development company in the agriculture, animal health and food sectors. TechAccel sources, invests in and acquires early-stage innovations. Through collaborations with universities and research institutions, TechAccel conducts advancement and de-risking research and development to ready technologies for commercialization. For more information, visit www.TechAccel.net or follow @Tech_Accel.

About Agrivida

Committed to using technology to improve the production of food for a growing global population, Agrivida scientists are experts in biochemistry, plant biology, molecular biology, agriculture, and nutrition. Founded in 2004 by scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who were focused on ways to improve the manufacture and use of enzymes, the company has been granted 33 patents, with more than 85 pending. The company’s innovative solutions have resulted in several research grants from both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional information on the company can be found at www.agrivida.com.

Contacts

Treble
Ethan Parker, 512-960-8222
techaccel@treblepr.com

St Louis, Sept. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Agrivida Inc., an agritech company focused on animal nutrition, announces it has completed an initial close of $20.4 million Series E financing. The funds will be used to advance the commercialization of Agrivida’s patented GRAINZYME® feed additive enzymes for use with poultry and swine, and to support product development for dairy and beef cattle. The University of Texas Investment Management Company led the round and was joined by current investors ARCH Venture Partners, Cultivian Sandbox, Middleland Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Northgate Capital.

“We’re excited to partner with the Agrivida team as the company prepares to commercialize its initial GRAINZYME products,” says Spencer Swayze of the University of Texas Investment Management Company that led the raise. “The company’s technology has the potential to improve the production efficiency for producers while reducing raw material and energy costs in the large and rapidly growing feed enzyme market.”

Company poised to launch breakthrough patented technologies

In addition to funding expansion of its capabilities and leadership team, the current financing will allow Agrivida to advance its regulatory and product development programs, and to execute a go-to-market commercialization plan for its patented GRAINZYME Phytase technology, which uses protein expression and storage in grain to simplify the process of enzyme production. The company expects to introduce its new products in early 2017, entering the feed enzyme market, which according to Research and Markets was valued at $1.1 billion in 2015, with an annual growth rate of 7 percent.

“This is another significant milestone for our company,” says Dan Meagher, CEO of Agrivida. “Exciting results from our recent animal trials are creating a convincing value proposition for the producers of food animals. We are looking forward to delivering on our promise of improving the production efficiency of meat, milk, and eggs to help address the growing global demand for food.”

About Agrivida

Committed to using technology to improve the production of food for a growing global population, Agrivida scientists are experts in biochemistry, plant biology, molecular biology, agriculture, and nutrition. Founded in 2004 by scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who were focused on ways to improve the manufacture and use of enzymes, the company has been granted 33 patents, with more than 85 pending. The company’s innovative solutions have resulted in several research grants from both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional information on the company can be found at www.agrivida.com.

E-mail: pr@agrivida.com