Startup invests in plant to produce biological insecticide against vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika
BR3 will hire 200 people to work in its plant in Taubaté in the technical areas and in the production of a low-cost solution that kills Aedes aegypti in its breeding sites
Investe São PauloBR3, a biotech startup, currently established at the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology – Cietec (USP/IPEN), officially announced on January 18 a R$ 20 million investment in the construction of its headquarters and plant in Taubaté, hiring approximately 200 people.
The main priority goal is to increase the production of DengueTech, a biological insecticide that, when applied in water, inhibits for 60 days the breeding of vector mosquitoes of dengue, chikungunya and Zika, Aedes aegypti.
In addition to Cietec (USP/IPEN), the project also relied on the support from Investe São Paulo, the investment promotion agency associated with the Department of Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation of the state of São Paulo.
“With this project, another step was taken to solve a public health problem of international importance. It is a project that shows how the State Government of São Paulo is able to bring together academia, private and public institutions in solutions that are not only technologically advanced, but of great importance to society,” said the director of Investe SP, Ermínio Lucci. For the new plant, the agency assisted the company mainly in issues related to environmental licensing.
DengueTech was developed by BR3 within Cietec’s incubator in São Paulo (USP/IPEN), in cooperation with Fiocruz, and was the winning project of Acelera Startup contest, promoted by Fiesp. The product is already being marketed by some companies, and with the expansion of its sales, the company should report a total turnover of R$ 10 million in 2017.
The R&D plant in Taubaté should start operations in 2018, with a production capacity a thousand times higher than the current pilot operation. The site covers a total area of 14,000 square meters, with 5,000 square meters of built area.
“The support provided by the local government was essential to anticipate the future of our project. The city of Taubaté was chosen for being next to several Science and Technology Institutions, in addition to having one of the best HDIs in the country, being in the center of the main consumer markets, providing excellent logistics for the internationalization of the company’s business. , said Rodrigo Perez, founding partner of the company.
The mayor of Taubaté, Ortiz Junior said: “the arrival of BR3 is very important to our city. In addition to creating direct and indirect jobs, the construction of a plant of this size makes us very proud, as the fight against the Aedes aegypti is a priority to the city”.
About DengueTech
DengueTech is the trade name of the biological insecticide made from a naturally occurring microorganism, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, known as BTI, an innovative, practical, efficient, safe, and sustainable solution. For small breeding sites, it costs only R$ 2 per application spot per month. In the current scenario of increasing circulation of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes, only the BTI is effective and also sustainable and safe for a massive use. With the support from the Biomedical Science Institutes – ICB/USP, the technology licensed by FIOCRUZ has been improved by BR3, and is believed to be the state-of-the-art product formulation worldwide. It became effective in a few hours and lasts for 60 days. The technology was approved by ANVISA in the Free Sale mode (which allows for the distribution and use by the municipality or the purchase on the market by any citizen). Therefore, DengueTech is ready and can be easily incorporated into the continuous improvement of the vector control practices conducted by the municipalities.
About BR3
BR3 develops chemical and biotechnological technologies that sustainably improve the quality of agriculture and the health of people. With the launch of the fungicide Fegatex in 2001, it became the first domestic company to develop pesticides in Brazil from an active ingredient of unprecedented use in agriculture worldwide. In 2010, the company started developing bioproducts, and is now present in the main agricultural regions of Brazil, where it sells its products through a network of distributors. For more information, please visit www.br3.ind.br/.