Registration costs for new chemical pesticides can exceed $15 million, and the process can take as long as seven years. Fortunately, we expect the registration process for our product to be very quick and inexpensive by comparison.

Our initial reaction from the EPA has been extremely positive. They have already granted an exemption for tolerance for use of Pasteuria penetrans produced in vivo for use on non-root and non-tuber crops in The Land, an agricultural demonstration attraction at Epcot Center at Walt Disney World. This exemption from tolerance indicates the EPA’s belief that Pasteuria pose no hazard or risk to human beings. Pasteuria Bioscience will continue collaborating with Epcot scientists to leverage this exemption.

In order to expand this exemption into a full label for non-root and non-tuber crops, we will need to do two things:

1. Create a label with conforming language and appropriate use instructions
2. Demonstrate a QA/QC method that ensures there are no contaminants in the in vitro produced product. This will allow a full launch into initial markets such as strawberries and peanuts. (Peanuts are a legume crop).

To add root and tuber crops, we must show “safety” on these crops, which should not be difficult. We will follow the same argument already used successfully for the non-root crops.