Stay up to date with the latest news about 5Metis and other important information from the industry you should know.
September 28, 2024
5Metis Advances Banana Black Sigatoka Control
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA, September 28, 2024 - 5Metis, Inc. is pleased to announce a multi-year, $5.5 million, Phase III grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further advance its banana black sigatoka control product. Banana black sigatoka, also known as black leaf streak (BLS), is the most damaging foliar pathogen of bananas and plantains worldwide. Many smallholder farmers rely on these crops for both sustenance and income, and BLS can reduce yield by 50% or more, severely threatening grower livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
In multiple field trials across several continents, the 5Metis product has controlled BLS at rates 5- to 50-fold lower than current commercial standards and requires less frequent applications. With its new mode of action, it will break resistance among BLS strains that are becoming increasingly difficult to control. Overall, 5Metis anticipates that its product will reduce chemical load in the environment by more than 95%.
Development of the 5Metis product has been supported by the Gates Foundation through two previous grants, and this Phase III grant will help advance it toward registration submission. “We are appreciative of the support that the foundation has provided over the years and for its shared vision of a safe, efficacious product to control this devastating disease,” said Brian Green, PhD, CEO and CSO of 5Metis.
The BLS control product is just one of several that have been identified to date from 5Metis’ novel mode of action discovery platform, based on combining boron chemistry and natural product expertise. In addition to its BLS control product, 5Metis has novel mode of action compounds with field-demonstrated control of wheat Septoria and rice blast, along with programs targeting Asian soybean rust, oomycetes of concern for high value fruit and vegetable cultivation, and other important plant pathogen targets.
“5Metis has demonstrated remarkable efficiency in discovering and developing new modes of action,” continued Dr. Green, “and we look forward to continuing to work with the Gates Foundation and channel partners to move our programs toward commercialization.”
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” concerning the development of 5Metis technologies, the potential benefits and attributes of such technologies and resulting products, as well as the company’s expectations regarding partnering opportunities. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary. 5Metis undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason.
August 28, 2024
5Metis is Hiring!
5Metis, a pure-play discovery agrichemical company with an emphasis on crop health, is seeking a highly motivated scientist who will be responsible for safely and efficiently performing experiments in a non-GLP agrichemical laboratory. This is a laboratory-based position that will initially include responsibilities for weighing and mixing formulation components, HPLC analysis of samples and administration of our chemical/formulations database and chemical/formulations inventories.
May 30, 2024
5Metis, Inc. Announces Leadership Changes
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA, May 30, 2024 - 5Metis, Inc. is pleased to announce that Brian Green will become its new CEO effective June 1, 2024, replacing Steven Tuttle in that position. Brian will also continue in his role as CSO and will join the Board of Directors.
As CEO/CSO Brian will be responsible for leading 5Metis into its next phase of new product development. The 5Metis platform of enhancing natural product chemistries with boron leads to better, safer crop protection products that overcome pest resistance and boost yields. During the past year, field results have demonstrated these synergistic effects in multiple geographies and cropping systems. 5Metis is poised to drive existing programs toward the market and to expand the 5Metis platform to continue to generate novel mode of action products with substantial commercial potential.
Steven will become COO effective June 1, 2024 and also will remain a 5Metis board member as this planned succession process comes to fruition. He will continue to support Brian and the 5Metis team during this transition period, with a particular focus on establishing partnerships with commercial partners to bring 5Metis’ products to growers.
Yogesh Mago, Chairman of 5Metis, commented: “Our Board is resolutely supportive of Brian’s leadership to advance 5Metis’ continued momentum in innovating new modes of action for sustainable food production. We look forward to a smooth transition and capitalizing on the company’s meaningful progress to date.”
About 5Metis, Inc.
Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, 5Metis, Inc. (www.5metis.com) is a discovery agrichemical company with an emphasis on crop health. Founded in 2021, the company resulted from a union of the former Boragen, Inc. and AgriMetis, LLC agrichemical platforms, to combine boron‐based small molecule discovery and natural product synthetic biology for discovering new molecules with novel modes of action in the agrichemical space. 5Metis has a business model focused on discovery and early development with eventual partnerships for further development of de‐risked compounds with an attractive biological profile.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” concerning the development of 5Metis technologies, the potential benefits and attributes of such technologies and resulting products, as well as the company’s expectations regarding partnering opportunities. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary. 5Metis undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason.
April 30, 2024
RTP Crop Protection Firm Extends
Funding Round to $15 Million
A small firm developing new crop protection products in Research Triangle Park has added a few million dollars to a funding round. 5Metis has raised $5.5 million from existing investors, with the new capital serving as an extension of the company's $10 million Series A round in 2021. The funding will support various operations as the company works toward a larger funding round later this year.
From the Triangle Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/04/30/5metis-crop-protection-extends-funding-round.html
February 7, 2024
Clue Genetics and 5Metis Enter Collaboration
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina – February 7, 2024
Clue Genetics Inc. (Clue) and 5Metis, Inc. (5Metis) today announced that they have entered into a license and collaboration agreement focused on the discovery and development of novel biologically derived products for the crop protection sector.
The agreement was executed following a period of successful exploratory work during which the companies identified and confirmed the activity of a variety of strains from Clue’s proprietary fungal library, which showed potent control against a panel of important fungal pathogens. The companies will now advance these strains, and the compounds they make, towards commercial development, including through further glasshouse and/or field trials against agronomically important pathogens.
Under the Agreement, 5Metis receives the right to commercialize products derived from the Clue strains on a global basis. Oliver Ratcliffe, Chairman of Clue, noted, “We are delighted to be working with 5Metis, as it has a very experienced team led by seasoned individuals who have a successful track record in the agritech industry. We are confident that 5Metis will be an excellent partner in developing new products based on Clue’s proprietary fungal library.” Brian Green, COO & CSO of 5Metis added, “We are pleased to have access to Clue’s collection of living fungi. This is a unique biological resource, with diverse strains collected from a wide range of environments, that offers enormous potential for the discovery of novel bio molecules that will control pests. Our initial work has identified some high potential candidates for new products that can control a spectrum of crop pathogens that currently cause devastating crop losses to farmers. We very much look forward to building a strong partnership with Clue.”
About Clue Genetics: Clue Genetics is a leader in fungal genomics and owns a large diverse proprietary collection of microbial strains. The firm is deploying metabologenomic and synthetic biology approaches to develop fungi-derived molecules towards a broad range of applications, including new treatments for disease, tackling pollution and more sustainable inputs for agriculture. Contact: Dr. Oliver J. Ratcliffe, contact@cluegen.com
About 5Metis: 5Metis is a pure-play discovery agrichemical company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC. The company leverages exclusive expertise in boron‐based small molecule discovery and natural product synthetic biology. 5Metis is paving the way to deliver new molecules with novel modes of action that are not currently found in the agrichemical space. Contact: Dr. Brian Green, communication@5metis.com
April 20, 2023
5Metis Is Expanding!
5Metis, Inc. is happy to announce the newest addition to our research team. Steven (Stevie) Williams has joined our chemistry group as a Research Associate and will be working closely with our Senior Formulation and Analytical Chemists in their efforts to support biology testing of our new crop protection molecules.
Stevie received his MS in Chemistry from UNC Wilmington after obtaining BS degrees in Chemistry from Winston Salem State University and Exercise Science at Brevard College. He has most recently been working as a Quality Control Chemist for Alberdingk Boley in Greensboro, NC.
We are excited to have Stevie join our full-time research team in Research Triangle Park, NC.
October 19, 2022
5Metis Is Hiring!
5Metis, a pure play agrichemical company working at the cooperative interface of chemistry and biology, is seeking an experienced people-leader chemist with an excellent background in discovery/medicinal chemistry to manage and oversee the 5Metis formulation and analytical chemistry labs and personnel. This includes setting priorities for the labs, employee management, hiring, career development, and oversight of laboratory budgets for equipment, contracts, general lab requirements, and travel. In addition, the successful candidate will support outsourced discovery chemistry efforts, as well as growing the cohesive partnership between chemistry and biology. This position reports directly to the Senior Director of Chemistry.
August 17, 2022
5Metis Is Expanding!
5Metis Inc. is pleased to announce that three new employees have joined our team as we continue to build our platform for delivering resistance-breaking new modes of action molecules to the agrichemical industry.
Our new teammates are:
Yuba Kandel (Research Scientist, Plant Pathology), who earned his Ph.D. from South Dakota State University, joined 5Metis from Iowa State University, where he spent more than 10 years conducting research on plant diseases. Yuba has designed and implemented fungicide efficacy trials from the lab to the greenhouse to the field.
Ola Noras (Research Associate, Chemistry) came to 5Metis after completing her Fulbright Fellowship in Poland. Prior to that, Ola had earned a M.S. from The University of Tennessee and worked at Greenlight Biosciences on the fungal research team.
Xunhai Zheng (Senior Analytical Chemist) joins 5Metis from BASF with additional experience at Bayer and the NIH. Trained as an organic chemist, Xunhai is also an experienced bioanalytical chemist, with experience developing assays to monitor fate of compounds in and on leaf tissues. He also has considerable experience with NMR.
Steve Tuttle, President and CEO, said, “Our experienced R&D team is making significant progress converting the unique properties of boron into much needed and valuable crop protection compounds, and we are excited to have Yuba, Ola, and Xunhai bring their skills to our team efforts.”
April 26, 2022
Research Triangle Park, NC
5Metis, Inc., a recently formed pure-play discovery company specializing in crop health, is expanding its research in the area of crop protection with the intention of supporting smallholder farming communities in the developing world. These communities, often underserved by commercial agriculture, are disproportionately affected by damaging pathogens and unfavorable climate conditions that negatively impact crop production outcomes, often leading to significant crop loss. Through its research, 5Metis aims to tackle crop loss by improving pathogen-control methodologies for greater plant health and more profitable production outcomes.
Founded in 2021, 5Metis raised $10 million from private investors in a Series A Preferred Stock financing round lead by Ospraie Ag Science. “Our company is strategically focused on improving crop protection solutions by offering new modes of action that leverage molecular evolution and innovative science,” said Steven Tuttle, President and CEO of 5Metis. “Directing a portion of our research toward a particular geography allows us to not only investigate pathogens that have an adverse impact on a specific population but also to provide much needed support to smallholder farmers historically underserved by the crop protection industry.”
5Metis’s approach to research unites proprietary technology with scientific chemistry to deliver naturally-derived solutions that can ultimately provide effective control against harmful pathogens. Now, thanks to a multi-year grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 5Metis can elevate research initiatives by expanding its team as well as its laboratory and greenhouse footprint in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The award from the foundation will augment 5Metis’s goal to develop effective, low-cost novel fungicides with low toxicity and a broad antifungal spectrum.
“Expanding our research program will expedite discoveries in new modes of action to provide control in a safe and sustainable manner,” said Brian Green, Chief Scientific Officer for 5Metis. “The need fueling this research is great. When left uncontrolled, the pathogens we are targeting can devastate those depending on crop production for economic security.”
March 21, 2022
5Metis Is Expanding!
5Metis, Inc. is pleased to announce that three new employees have joined our team as we work to deliver novel solutions to the global agricultural chemistry industry. In addition, we have an active job posting for a Research Associate in Chemistry and expect to have more job postings going live in the coming months.
Our new teammates are:
Shengyou Long is our new Lead Formulation Chemist. Shengyou comes to us with a great amount of experience in agricultural formulations and was formerly a formulation chemist for Adama. He also brings process chemistry experience to the team.
Katie Clements has joined us as a Research Associate – Biology. Katie completed her MS from UNC Wilmington in the microbial sciences and then gained significant experience working as a Research Assistant for the university.
Cody Averette, who comes to us with experience from the Bayer CropScience and Syngenta greenhouses, is our new Greenhouse Technician.
Steve Tuttle, President and CEO, said, “We are excited to have such high quality individuals coming on board to help us convert the unique properties of boron into much needed and valuable crop protection compounds.”
October 6, 2021
Crop Science Company 5Metis Announced as Fifth 2021 F3 Tech Accelerator Participant
F3 Tech, an agriculture innovation accelerator program for early-stage companies supported by the nonprofit Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, today announced 5Metis as the fifth company in this year’s program. 5Metis is a new pure-play discovery company for crop health.
October 4, 2021
5Metis Raises $10M for R&D of Novel Crop Protection and Plant Health Technologies
5Metis, a newly formed company, has raised $10 million from eight investors in an oversubscribed Series A Preferred Stock financing round, company president CEO Steve Tuttle said in an exclusive interview with WRAL TechWire.
