ICIG Ventures Invests in Ascribe Bio Ahead of Biofungicide Commercial Launch

By ICIG|29 January 2025

ICIG Ventures, the venture arm of International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), has announced a new venture investment in Ascribe, a developer of natural crop protection solutions. This investment will support Ascribe’s commercial launch of Phytalix, its flagship small-molecule biofungicide.

Strategic Investment to Scale Manufacturing

Alongside ICIG Ventures’ financial investment, the companies will explore opportunities to leverage the global chemical manufacturing capabilities of the WeylChem Group, ICIG’s fine chemicals platform to accelerate commercial-scale manufacture of Phytalix.

Pelin Yilmaz, ICIG Ventures Director, states: “ICIG Ventures is proud to invest in Ascribe as it prepares for its next phase of growth. Ascribe’s technology represents a breakthrough in natural crop protection, combining sustainability and efficacy to address unmet needs in global crop protection. We are excited to apply our expertise in small-molecule manufacturing to help Ascribe scale Phytalix and deliver environmental and economic benefits across millions of acres worldwide.”

Advancing Towards Commercialization

With over 500 successful field trials in the world’s largest fungicide markets, a strong IP position, and a distribution agreement with Nutrien for U.S. row crops, Ascribe is rapidly advancing toward commercialization. Forthcoming regulatory approvals in Brazil and the U.S. are expected to unlock significant market opportunities for Phytalix, which tackles the key barriers to adoption of biofungicides in row crop markets — cost, efficacy, and compatibility.

Jay Farmer, CEO of Ascribe, said: “ICIG’s manufacturing network spans the U.S., EU, and India and this investment and partnership strengthens our ability to meet global demand and accelerate our path to market. We are thrilled to launch a technology that unlocks value for agriculture and reduces environmental impacts, and we can not wait to get Phytalix in the hands of farmers worldwide.”

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International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) is a privately owned industrial group with a total turnover of more than €4 billion. ICIG focuses on several main platforms: Fine Chemicals under the WeylChem brand, Care Chemicals (Catexel), Chlorovinyls (Vynova), Compounds (Benvic), Hydrocarbons & Solvents (HCS Group), Superabsorbents (Stockhausen Superabsorber) and Enterprises with specialized businesses in industrial drying services, fermentation products, viscose filaments, activated carbon and wood protection chemicals. See all author stories here.

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