An effective and environmentally friendly solution to control fire blight disease caused by erwinia amylovora in pome fruit crops
The PhageFire project is devised to satisfy the unmet need for a secure and reliable solution to control fire blight (FB) disease in pome fruits caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora (Ea). The Spanish pome fruit producer, Peras de Rincón de Soto has partnered with Enviroinvest (Hungary) consultancy company expert in production, authorization and commercialization of phage-based pesticides, ZHAW (Switzerland) – a top research centre in phage therapy and Kimitec Group specialist in the design, development and commercialization of natural solutions for the plant protection sector. Together, PhageFire Consortium members aim to further develop an integrated phage-based solution enabling pome fruit farmers to effectively control Ea infections, reducing both production and economic losses. In addition, this will also result on reduced reliance on harmful chemicals (mainly copper-based products) and antibiotics. Based on our advanced current development of phages cocktails and their successful results on the safety and benefits of phages, our goal is to develop and commercialise PhageFire as the first-in-class phage-based biopesticide in Europe providing effective prevention and treatment against Ea infections. In order to take the project forward and reach product commercialization, a next estimated investment of €3.9 M is needed. The successful consecution of the FTI funding will help to cover the 70% (€2.97 M) while the Consortium partners will assume the 30% (€0.93 M) with own funds and the potential economic help from private investors. Considering the increasing demand for FB protection methods, PhageFire biopesticide will represent a great business opportunity (€22.12 M net profit between 2023-2027, ROI 4.66) by filling a highly profitable niche in the growing biopesticide market (CAGR 14.93%, €9.31 B by 2025). Furthermore, the scalable potential of phages will also enable targeting new horizons in plant disease protection.