A SCOTTISH company that specialises in environmentally-friendly insecticides is expanding and doubling its headcount after securing £4 million in a new funding round.
Glasgow-based Solasta Bio said it will use the funding to scale up its UK and US operations, expand its technical and commercial teams with the creation of 25 jobs, accelerate the development of its technology platform and target new markets.
Shireen Davies, Solasta Bio chief executive, said: “With the issue of food security and effective crop protection becoming an increasingly pressing issue for the agriculture industry and governments worldwide, there is an urgent need for sustainable environmentally-friendly alternatives to current synthetic pesticides. We’re confident that our technology provides the solution and has the potential to make a huge impact.”
The funding round was led by Yield Lab Europe, a venture capital fund which invests in early stage European companies specialising in technology for sustainable food and agriculture systems.
Other investors include Rubio Impact Ventures, a Netherlands-based venture fund; Scottish Enterprise, Scotland's national economic development agency, and Cavallo Ventures, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco.
SIS Ventures, a subsidiary of Social Investment Scotland, which supports social enterprises, and the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund, an early-stage investment fund backed by the UK Government, also invested in the round alongside several private investors in the ‘agritech’ – agricultural technology – sector.
Solasta Bio said its pesticides are inspired by nature “rather than selected from a synthetic chemistry library” and are the first of their kind to be developed worldwide.
“These products effectively target insect pests while preserving beneficial pollinators such as bees in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner,” the company said.
This latest round brings the total raised by Solasta Bio to £5.5m.
Funding includes grant support from Transforming Food Production, a £90m programme run by Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, and Scottish Enterprise.
Kerry Sharp, director of entrepreneurship and investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Solasta is a terrific example of how breakthroughs in science and academia can be brought to bear on the world’s grand challenges and build the high-growth businesses of the future.
“We’ve supported the company since its very earliest stages and continue to be impressed by its product development; expanding, diverse team; and the strong cadre of investors it’s attracted.”
Oliver Sexton, investment director at the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund, said the fund backed “world changing technology” at an early stage and added: “The results that the Solasta have shown point to a notable improvement in pest control, vastly reducing harm to beneficial insects and reducing use of petrochemicals.”
Solasta Bio was set up in 2020 and is a spin-out from the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow. The company currently employs 25 across its research and development team, commercial staff and consultants.
After running successful early-stage research and development trials with commercial partners, Solasta Bio said it is on track to bring its first products to market in 2027. This is “at least half the time traditionally taken by synthetic pest control products,” the company added.
Synthetic chemicals currently dominate the global insecticides market and account for 94% of insect control solutions. These help control insects which cause “enormous social, health and economic damage,” including at least $70 billion in US crop losses alone, Solasta Bio explains.
But the company argues that more effective products, which have reduced impact on non-target insects including pollinators like bees, are urgently needed. About 75% of food crops are dependent on these pollinator insects. The lack of species specificity with insecticides, alongside widespread insect resistance, increasing regulatory controls and consumer preferences for non-chemical residues are all putting the insecticides market under increasing pressure, Solasta Bio said.
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