A natural breakthrough in protecting cereals and field crops

BASEL, Switzerland & CHASSIEU, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 18, 2025--

Amoebas. These single-celled microorganisms are now at the heart of one of agriculture’s latest biological innovation – a bio-fungicide capable of protecting wheat and other cereal crops from crippling fungal diseases that cost global agriculture billions of dollars in annual crop losses and quality.

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This new development, made from the lysate of the amoeba Willaertia magna C2c Maky, holds strong potential to advance biological crop protection. In trials, the candidate demonstrated its effectiveness in combating the fungi responsible for these fungal diseases and helped activate the plants' defence responses. As a next‑generation biological, it is built on a biological active substance and designed to fit modern integrated crop management.

Syngenta Crop Protection, a global leader in biologicals and other innovative crop protection technologies, and French greentech innovator Amoéba SA, have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop and commercialize groundbreaking biocontrol solutions for the EU and UK markets, focusing on cereals and field crops. The parties plan to negotiate a definitive distribution agreement with a target timeline of spring 2026. This strategic collaboration aims to offer farmers advanced biological solutions that enhance the sustainability of their farming practices, address the challenge of increasing pest resistance to existing products, and offer relief to farmers facing a shrinking toolbox of crop protection technologies.

The initial focus of the partnership will be on combating the main wheat diseases, namely septoria tritici blotch (STB) and yellow rust. These two diseases are among the most economically damaging wheat diseases across Europe and the UK, impacting an estimated 9-12 million hectares of wheat annually. In Germany alone, STB causes yield losses of 5-50% and costs of €1.5 billion annually, while yellow rust can reduce yields by 10-70% and even lead to total crop failure in susceptible varieties, according to recognized industry and academic sources.

Matthew Pickard, Syngenta’s Head of Seedcare and Biologicals for Europe, said: “At Syngenta, we are committed to deliver advanced, effective biological solutions at the cutting edge of science. We’re proud to work with Amoéba to offer nature-inspired solutions that empower farmers in these important markets.”

“We are very pleased with the collaboration with Syngenta, a global leader in agricultural innovation,” affirms Benoit Villers,Chairman of the Board of Amoéba and Jean-François Doucet, CEO of Amoéba. "This agreement, which should lead to distribution and development partnerships between our two companies, is a major step forward for Amoéba. It gives us the opportunity to combine our scientific expertise with Syngenta's widely recognised leadership in cereal protection and the marketing of biocontrol solutions. Finally, it perfectly illustrates how collaboration between innovators in the sector can make a difference for farmers while paving the way for broader applications in field crops."

Founded in 2010, Amoéba has developed a patented biocontrol application based on lysate from the amoeba Willaertia magna, which received the prestigious Bernard Blum Gold Medal in October 2025 as the most promising biocontrol solution worldwide. In June 2025, the active substance received EU approval following EFSA’s scientific assessment and a European Commission decision. Product‑specific authorizations are in progress.

About Syngenta

Syngenta is a global leader in agricultural innovation with a presence in more than 90 countries. Syngenta is focused on developing technologies and farming practices that empower farmers, so they can make the transformation required to feed the world’s population while preserving our planet. Its bold scientific discoveries deliver better benefits for farmers and society on a bigger scale than ever before. Guided by its Sustainability Priorities, Syngenta is developing new technologies and solutions that support farmers to grow healthier plants in healthier soil with a higher yield. Syngenta Crop Protection is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland; Syngenta Seeds is headquartered in the United States. Read our stories and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & X.

About Amoéba

Founded in 2010, Amoéba is a greentech company based in Chassieu (Lyon, France) whose ambition is to become a major player in the treatment of microbiological risk based on the patented use of amoebae in the plant protection and cosmetics sectors.

With know-how that is unique in the world and protected by numerous patents, Amoéba is currently the only company capable of exploiting the full potential of the Willaertia amoeba on an industrial scale and cultivating it in sufficient volumes to offer biological solutions that constitute a viable alternative to the chemical products widely used today. Amoéba is currently focusing on the global biocontrol market for plant protection and on the cosmetics market. As the marketing of plant protection products is subject to obtaining local regulatory authorisations, the Company has carried out the necessary regulatory procedures and filed registration dossiers in Europe and the United States. The active substance has obtained approval in 2022 in the USA and in 2025 in Europe. Product approvals have been granted in the USA and are expected in the coming months in Europe.

The cosmetic application does not require prior approval from a competent authority in Europe or the United States. The cosmetic ingredient is already registered on the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) list, paving the way for it to be marketed worldwide except in China, where local approval is required.

Amoéba is listed on Euronext Growth (ALMIB). The company is a member of the Bpifrance Excellence network and is eligible for the PEA-PME scheme.

For more information, visit www.amoeba-nature.com

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Syngenta’s Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as ‘expect’, ‘would’, ‘will’, ‘potential’, ‘plans’, ‘prospects’, ‘estimated’, ‘aiming’, ‘on track’ and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.

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Syngenta and Amoeba SA to develop and commercialize biocontrol solutions for EU and UK

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Voting was underway on Sunday in Myanmar in the final round of a three-stage general election, capping a nearly monthlong process that has already ensured the country’s military rulers and their allies will command a parliamentary majority to form a new government.

Critics say the polls are neither free nor fair, and are designed to legitimize the power of the military after it ousted the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

The army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP, has already won most of the seats contested in the first two rounds of voting. Twenty-five percent of the seats in the upper and lower houses of the national Parliament are reserved for the military, guaranteeing it and its allies control of the legislature.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the current military government, is widely expected by both supporters and opponents to assume the presidency when the new Parliament meets.

The army's 2021 takeover triggered widespread opposition that dragged Myanmar into a civil war. Security concerns engendered by the fighting meant voting was not held in more than one-fifth of the country’s 330 townships, another reason the process has been described as neither free nor fair.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan on Tuesday said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, did not send observers and would not certify the election, citing concerns over the lack of inclusive and free participation.

Min Aung Hlaing pushed back against critics of the polls on Sunday, declaring that “the people who live in Myanmar are the ones who vote. Not those from outside."

“We are not concerned whether this is recognized by foreign countries or not. We recognize the people’s vote. It should be like that,” he told journalists after inspecting a polling station in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.

Asked if he intended to take part in the new government, he declined to comment, noting the president would be selected when Parliament meets.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won landslide victories in the 2020 and 2015 elections, but was forced to dissolve in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, while opposition groups called for a voter boycott.

A new Election Protection Law imposed harsh penalties for most public criticism of the polls, with the authorities charging more than 400 people recently for activities such as leafleting or online activity.

The previous two rounds of voting were disrupted by armed groups opposed to military rule carrying out attacks on polling stations and government buildings in several townships, killing at least two administrative officials, according to the military government.

Voting on Sunday began at 6 a.m. in 61 townships across six regions and three states, including many areas that have seen clashes in recent months.

At the polling station in Dagon township in Yangon, the country’s largest city, 86-year-old Soe Tint said he cast his ballot because he wants the country to be peaceful and develop “in all sectors, including education.”

At the same station, Lae Lae Yi, 62, was less hopeful.

“I’m not expecting anything at all, because there is no motivation,” she said.

The election is being held in three phases due to the armed conflict. The first two rounds took place on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11 in 202 of the country’s 330 townships. A total of 67 townships – mostly areas controlled by armed opposing groups – did not participate, reducing the original seats in the 664-member national parliament to 586.

Final results for all parliament seats are expected to be announced later this week. The military government has announced that Parliament will be convened in March, and the new government will take up its duties in April.

The party with a majority in the combined upper and lower houses of Parliament can select the new president, who in turn names a Cabinet and forms a new government.

More than 4,800 candidates from 57 political parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, though only six are contesting nationwide. Seventeen other parties aside from the USDP have won a small number of seats in the legislature, ranging from one to 10.

The military government said there are more than 24 million eligible voters, about 35% fewer than in 2020. The turnout in the first two rounds of voting was between 50% and 60%, it announced.

Peck reported from Bangkok.

Ko Ko Gyi, chairman of the People's Party and leader of Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy uprising, talks to journalists after casting his ballot at a polling station during the final round of general election Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Voters line up to cast ballots at a polling station during the final round of general election Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A official of the Union Election Commission prepares a voting booth at a polling station, one day ahead of the third phase of the general election, in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the third phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

An official of the Union Election Commission sets up an electronic voting machine at a polling station, one day ahead of the third phase of the general election, in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

An official of the Union Election Commission announces the open of a polling station during the third phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A voter holds up her finger marked with ink indicating she voted at a polling station during the third phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)