At the end of March, Futureco Bioscience announced that it had signed with Sumitomo Corporation a global agreement to advance new, high-performance biological crop protection technology.

Before we go into the details of the new agreement, Futureco Biosciences and Sumitomo Corporation (through its subsidiary SUMI AGRO Europe – SAE) have an established relationship. For example, SAE acquired a minority stake in Futureco in 2017. What’s the current form of that relationship? Does it already involve distribution of products in the Futureco portfolio?

Indeed, the partnership between Futureco Bioscience and Sumitomo Corporation – initiated in 2017 through Sumi Agro Europe’s acquisition of a minority stake in the company – was conceived as a strategic alliance to bolster Futureco Bioscience’s presence in key agricultural markets across Europe. At the time, our footprint in regions such as France, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and Eastern Europe was limited, and the alliance offered a pathway to scale in those competitive territories.
Over the years, this collaboration has generated valuable synergies, allowing both companies to combine their strengths. Futureco Bioscience contributed its robust R&D capabilities – built on over three decades of innovation and close collaboration with academic and research institutions – while Sumitomo brought its extensive global infrastructure and more than 40 years of expertise in plant protection products, dating back to its early role exporting Japanese agrochemical technologies in the 1970s.
That said, the partnership has evolved. Initial expectations have been only partially fulfilled, due in part to internal factors, as well as broader shifts in the biologicals market landscape. These changes have led to a clearer understanding that, given the distinct profiles of the two companies, there is value in also pursuing independent strategies to fully unlock market potential.
As a result, the distribution relationship between Futureco Bioscience and Sumi Agro Europe combines both exclusive and non-exclusive agreements. This flexibility has become a strategic asset, allowing Futureco to implement a more granular market segmentation approach and to complement the existing alliance with local partnerships better suited to specific crops, geographies, and agronomic needs. In today’s rapidly evolving biologicals sector – now surpassing USD 14 billion globally – this autonomy and agility are essential.
As part of a new, more strategically focused phase of collaboration, Futureco Bioscience and Sumitomo Corporation are increasingly aligning around high-impact, project-based initiatives. One such initiative involves Lysobacter enzymogenes B25, a proprietary strain with nematicidal activity and plant growth-promoting properties, patented in 2020. It entered an exclusive evaluation agreement with licensing option last year and is currently under assessment. In parallel, the recent global agreement around our patented B2017 strain further reflects this renewed direction – where Futureco’s innovation capacity and Sumitomo’s global market access converge to accelerate the development and delivery of scientifically validated biological solutions to growers.
Looking ahead, we remain open to exploring new opportunities with Sumitomo Corporation, both in Europe and internationally, while continuing to build independent commercial pathways that ensure our technologies reach their full potential in the hands of growers around the world.

When Futureco Bioscience was founded in 1993, the focus was biostimulants and plant nutrition. Biopesticides came along later with a product NOFLY. What is Futureco’s product mix now and what is the ambition?

While it’s true that Futureco Bioscience entered the market in the 1990s with a strong offering in biostimulants and plant nutrition, the company’s long-term vision has always been centered on biocontrol. From the outset, our R&D efforts were aimed at harnessing biological mechanisms to protect crops, but entering the biopesticide market required time – time to build scientific infrastructure, navigate complex regulatory pathways, and develop truly effective, stable, and scalable solutions. The launch of NOFLY, our first commercial biocontrol product, marked a turning point. It validated our approach and gave us a platform to grow. Still, from a business standpoint, we recognized that to gain economic strength and market positioning in a highly competitive and fragmented sector, we needed a broader, more agile portfolio. Biostimulants have played that role: they’ve provided commercial traction and allowed us to expand our footprint while continuing to invest in the longer-term promise of biocontrol.
Today, biostimulants and crop nutrition still represent the majority of our sales, but biocontrol is gaining momentum. Just a few years ago, biocontrol products accounted for eight to 12 percent of our total turnover. That figure now stands at a solid 15 percent, and we aim to double it by 2028.
That ambition is supported by a robust pipeline, where the majority of our investment is now directed toward biological crop protection. This pipeline is heavily focused on microorganisms and botanical extracts, with a growing number of proprietary strains and actives under patent protection. Among the most advanced candidates are the nematicidal strains Metabacillus halosaccharovorans B410 and Lysobacter enzymogenes B25, as well as Microbacterium esteraromaticum B24 and Pseudomonas lactis B2021, which possesses biofungicidal and bactericidal activity. All of them are already protected by international patents.
Our strategy is not just about discovery – it’s about building the right foundations to ensure market success: improving formulations to extend shelf life and field stability; securing regulatory approvals in key territories; expanding product labels to reflect local agronomic needs; and, critically, equipping our partners and customers with high-level technical training and support.
We believe that the future of agriculture will be shaped by biological innovation. And Futureco Bioscience is aligning its entire structure – from R&D to field deployment – to make sure that our biocontrol solutions are not just innovative, but truly impactful in the hands of growers around the world.

Moving to the announcement, Futureco has signed a global evaluation with licensing option with Sumitomo Corporation for a biocontrol product, based on the proprietary strain B2017 of Pseudomonas alloputida. Can you talk us through the fungal and bacterial diseases it combats and the mode of action, and what would be the formulation of the product?

The core of this agreement is a novel and highly promising biological crop protection technology developed by Futureco Bioscience: a patented strain of Pseudomonas alloputida, strain B2017. This strain has shown exceptional broad-spectrum efficacy against some of the most economically significant fungal and bacterial pathogens in agriculture.
From a biological standpoint, B2017 operates through a multifactorial mode of action. It produces a specific set of siderophores, including a unique pyoverdin, which are iron-chelating compounds. These molecules effectively deprive competing pathogens of available iron, a critical micronutrient for their survival and proliferation. In addition to siderophore production, B2017 expresses a suite of enzymes – including esterase C4, alkaline phosphatase, leucine arylamidase, and Naphtol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase – which enable it to colonize the phyllosphere and rhizosphere aggressively, occupying space and consuming nutrients that would otherwise be available to pathogens.
What further sets B2017 apart is its ability to inhibit biofilm formation by certain plant pathogens – a critical factor in disease progression and persistence. Biofilms in fact protect pathogens from environmental stress and treatment, making infections harder to control. By preventing biofilm development, B2017 disrupts the early stages of pathogen establishment, reducing the risk of persistent infections and making other crop protection measures more effective.
The result is an active microbial barrier that can suppress a wide variety of diseases. On the fungal side, B2017 is effective against pathogens responsible for powdery mildew (such as Oidium neolycopersici, Glovomyces cichoracearum, Leveillula taurica, Erysiphe necator), downy mildew (Bremia lactucae, Phytophthora infestans, Plasmopara viticola), Fusarium rots (F. oxysporum), Sclerotinia, Rhizoctonia pox, and others. On the bacterial front, it combats major threats such as Pseudomonas syringae, Pectobacterium spp., and Xanthomonas spp.
As for the product’s formulation, development efforts are focused on two delivery systems: oil dispersion (OD) and microgranules. These formats are being optimized for field performance, shelf stability, and compatibility with existing agricultural practices, ensuring flexibility in application whether through foliar, soil, or seed treatment.
This is not just another microbial – it’s a carefully characterized, patent-protected active with real potential to fill current efficacy gaps in biological crop protection. With global registration processes already underway both in Europe and United states and a scalable formulation in development, B2017 is poised to become a cornerstone of Futureco’s expanding biocontrol portfolio.

In terms of the product development, Futureco has taken out a patent for the product strain B2017 (see 2BMonthly interview July 2021). What are the timelines on the regulatory process?

Yes, B2017 is protected under international patent, reflecting our commitment to securing proprietary innovation with long-term strategic value. The strain is currently advancing through the regulatory process in both the European Union and the United States – two of the most rigorous and strategically significant markets for biological crop protection products.
In the EU, the dossier for B2017 was validated in 2021, with Germany appointed as the Rapporteur Member State. However, the Draft Assessment Report (DAR) is still pending, highlighting the systemic delays currently affecting the registration of microbial-based biopesticides across Europe.
Given current progress and assuming no additional delays, our best-case scenario is to receive EU regulatory approval of the active substance by 2026, enabling a commercial launch of the formulated product in 2027-2028 across priority European markets.
In the United States, the EPA’s registration process is comparatively agile, making it a potential early launch market for B2017. However, recent U.S. tariffs – including a 10 percent universal import tax – have introduced new challenges for European exporters. Futureco Bioscience is closely monitoring the situation and evaluating its impact on pricing, logistics, and commercial rollout timing, with the goal of adapting our strategy to ensure competitive and efficient product access for U.S. growers.

Regarding the commercial roll-out: the new product would then be distributed by Sumi/Summit Agro – in which markets? And is this conditional on the ‘global evaluation’?

The agreement with Sumitomo Corporation is a global evaluation with a licensing option, and both the technical and commercial scopes of the collaboration are still being defined. Distribution rights have not yet been defined, and the agreement does not establish exclusivity. For that reason, it is also too early to confirm in which specific markets the product will be launched.
The evaluation phase will be crucial in shaping product positioning, regulatory strategy, and the commercial rollout roadmap. Depending on how the strain performs under different agronomic conditions and the strategic fit in each territory, Sumi/Summit Agro may play a leading role in several regions – but those conversations are still ongoing.
At this stage, both companies are fully aligned in gathering the data, insights, and regulatory clarity needed to design a market entry strategy that ensures B2017 reaches growers efficiently and where its performance and sustainability profile can deliver the greatest value. The ultimate goal is to ensure the product lands in the right markets, with the right partners, and with the necessary support to maximize adoption and impact.

And finally, there were some positive overtones on biocontrol regulation in Europe at the end of 2024 (Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture includes Biocontrol in its Recommendations, September 2024). What’s Futureco’s view on this development?

The acknowledgment of biocontrol within the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture was certainly a positive sign – it shows that biological solutions are finally being recognized as essential tools for more sustainable farming. However, progress on paper is not yet matched by real regulatory reform.
At present, the European regulatory process for biocontrol products remains excessively long, costly, and complex, especially for small and mid-sized innovators. Registration timelines often extend beyond five years, making Europe a challenging market in which to launch new microbial-based technologies. From a business perspective, this environment puts European innovators at a disadvantage and incentivizes focus on less burdensome regulatory systems outside the EU.
This regulatory inertia ultimately limits the speed at which farmers in Europe can access cutting-edge, environmentally friendly crop protection tools – an irony, considering the EU’s stated sustainability goals.
As members of IBMA, we strongly support the association’s proposal for targeted amendments to Regulation 1107/2009, which were approved by the IBMA Council and draw directly from the draft amendments proposed during the SUR (Sustainable Use Regulation) discussions. These proposals include practical, actionable changes such as establishing dedicated evaluation pathways for biocontrol, removing redundant re-authorizations, and creating a centralized EU evaluation body specifically for biologicals. The message is clear: Europe must turn its ambition into action. Without regulatory alignment, the sector’s innovation potential will remain underused, and European farmers will continue to wait for tools that are already available elsewhere. At Futureco Bioscience, we remain committed to advancing biocontrol in Europe – but the system must evolve if the region truly wants to lead in sustainable agriculture.

This interview was first published in the April 2025 issue of 2BMonthly. For more in-depth insights into the biologicals industry, subscribe here.

The above responses were based on individual interviews conducted with Rafael Juncosa (President and CEO), Jose Manuel Lara (Chief Operating Officer), Carolina Fernandez (Scientific Vice-President), and Maria José Lis (Business Development and Marketing Director), and have been compiled and crafted by Eleonora Aquilini (Communications and PR Director).