Ecovelex Partnership with Royal Holloway

16 June 2025

Eden Research plc

("Eden" or "the Company")

Ecovelex Partnership with Royal Holloway

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), a leader in sustainable biopesticide and biocontrol technology, is pleased to announce that it has formed a strategic partnership with Royal Holloway, University of London ("RHUL" or "Royal Holloway"). The partnership has been formed under Innovate UK's Knowledge Transfer Partnership ("KTP") scheme and will seek to expand the development of Eden's flagship seed treatment product to include new cereal and vegetable seeds. The KTP, funded 67% by Innovate UK and the remaining 33% by Eden, represents a new development programme with the addition of specialist academic expertise, facilities access and a KTP associate. Such programmes represent excellent value for Eden and its shareholders as the Company's investment is leveraged with non-dilutive funding provided by Innovate UK. A typical KTP project delivers a package of support valued at around £80,000 to £100,000 per year, including project consumables, the associate's salary, training and development, and travel and subsistence.

Eden's team will benefit from the extensive knowledge of Dr Tina Steinbrecher and Professor Gerhard Leubner of RHUL's Plant Biochemistry faculty and a new seed research scientist who will join Eden's R&D team with immediate effect. The Company will also have access via Dr Tina Steinbrecher and Professor Gerhard Leubner to RHUL's laboratories, widely regarded as one of the industry's leading research facilities in the fields of seed biology and technology. As part of the agreement, Dr Tina Steinbrecher and Professor Gerhard Leubner's involvement with the project will be overseen by the Company's Lead Biology Research Scientist, Dr James Hourston. As a RHUL alumnus and a former employee of the RHUL seed research team, James's connection with his RHUL counterparts marks a continuation of their partnership and will allow for seamless introduction to the seed treatment development project.

Eden's first seed treatment is currently used as a treatment for maize seeds. It has been approved under temporary authorisations over the past two years in Italy and is under review for its full authorised use across the EU. The treatment serves as a repellent against bird infestation by emitting an unpleasant odour for birds and encouraging them to find alternative food sources in the wild. This leaves the seed intact, giving the plant the best chance of growth and protecting a farmer's crop yield. This seed treatment represents a superior, sustainable alternative to other seed treatments available on the market, with its naturally occurring, plant-based natural ingredients.

The potential addition of new cereal and vegetable oil seeds would represent a significant growth opportunity for Eden, particularly as the Company looks to expand its presence into new, large markets via its seed treatment product.

Sean Smith, CEO of Eden Research, commented:

"Our new partnership with Royal Holloway represents the start of an exciting opportunity to expand the use of our seed treatment beyond maize into new cereals and grains. The KTP scheme is a fantastic initiative which has allowed us to expand and accelerate product development, with the backing of Innovate UK, and bring in the expertise of the brightest minds in seed applied science and technology.

"The importance and value that Dr Tina Steinbrecher and Professor Gerhard Leubner will bring to the project cannot be understated. I look forward to working alongside them both, transferring their knowledge to our sustainable seed treatment development efforts in a bid to deliver an eco-friendly solution to farmers to help protect their farms from damaging infestations across a wider range of crop and bird species."

Professor Gerhard Leubner and Dr Tina Steinbrecher of Royal Holloway, University of London, jointly added:

"We are delighted to combine Royal Holloway's long-standing expertise in seed science with Eden's sustainable technology to develop a novel, environmentally friendly seed coating, delivering better, greener solutions for farmers.

"Royal Holloway's seed science team, led by Dr Steinbrecher and Prof Leubner, is excited to begin this KTP journey, drawing on our complementary strengths to work with a broad range of distinct crop seeds and explore how innovation in seed technology can support more sustainable and resilient agriculture".

-- ENDS --

Notes to Editors:

Eden Research is the only UK-listed company focused on biopesticides for sustainable agriculture. It develops and supplies innovative biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries.

Eden's products are formulated with terpene active ingredients, based on natural plant defence metabolites. To date, they have been primarily used on high-value fruits and vegetables, improving crop yields and marketability, with equal or better performance when compared with conventional pesticides. Eden has three products currently on the market:

Based on plant-derived active ingredients, Mevalone® is a foliar biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting grapes and other high-value fruit and vegetable crops. It is a useful tool in crop defence programmes and is aligned with the requirements of integrated pest management programmes. It is approved for sale in a number of key countries whilst Eden and its partners pursue regulatory clearance in new territories thereby growing Eden's addressable market globally.

Novellus+ is an evolution of Mevalone, allowing improved rates in the field, high levels of efficacy and a broader list of targets.

Cedroz™ is a bionematicide that targets free living nematodes which are parasitic worms that affect a wide range of high-value fruit and vegetable crops globally. Cedroz is registered for sale on two continents and Eden's commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical, is pursuing registration and commercialisation of this important new product in numerous countries globally.

Eden's seed treatment product, Ecovelex™ was developed to safely tackle crop destruction caused by birds - a major cause of losses in maize and other crops. Ecovelex works by creating an unpleasant taste or odour that repels birds, leaving the seeds safely intact and the birds unaffected and free to find alternative food sources. The product is based on Eden's plant-derived chemistry, registered in the EU, U.S. and elsewhere, and formulated using Eden's Sustaine® microencapsulation system.

Eden's Sustaine® encapsulation technology is used to harness the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic compounds to enhance their performance and ease-of-use. Sustaine microcapsules are naturally-derived, plastic-free, biodegradable micro-spheres derived from yeast. It is one of the only viable, proven and immediately registerable solutions to the microplastics problem in formulations requiring encapsulation.

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN. It was awarded the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark in January 2021, which recognises London-listed companies that derive over 50% of their total annual revenue from products and services that contribute to the global green economy. Eden derives 100% of its total annual revenues from sustainable products and services.

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com. You can also follow Eden's latest developments via its social media channels: X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.