Bee Vectoring Technologies Successfully Completes Phase 2 Evaluations of Biological Products for In-licensing and Revenue Extension

September 22, 2020 1:00 AM EDT | Source: Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.

Mississauga, Ontario and Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - September 22, 2020) - Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE: BEE) (the "Company" or "BVT") announced today that it has reached another important milestone in its ability to unlock new revenue streams through third-party product in-licensing, having successfully concluded Phase 2 evaluations. Following Phase 1 testing of six products, the Company completed a Phase 2 proof-of-concept field trial with two biological insecticides in North America. Field trials in Europe with a third biological insecticide, in addition to a biological fungicide are in progress and are expected to be completed by late fall.

The objective for these initial field trials is to confirm successful delivery of the products to crops of interest through BVT's natural precision agriculture dispensing systems and to assess initial product efficacy. In the North American trial, the biological insecticides were found to be present in the flower tissue following application, confirming that microorganisms were successfully delivered and subsequently colonized the crop through the BVT system. Furthermore, a reduction in the population of crop damaging plant bugs was observed in the crop during the course of the season - establishing the biological efficacy of these systems for managing pest pressure.

"With the positive completion of Phase 2, BVT is a step closer to in-licensing agreements with third parties and unlocking multiple new revenue streams. The products under evaluation are already commercially available and registered in the US or the EU, which means we can get to revenue faster without completing some of the registration requirements that can be time consuming and costly," said Ashish Malik, CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies. "Environmentally responsible pest and disease management, in-hand with improving crop yields, are critical challenges for growers. Hence, the more biological products we can incorporate through our proprietary delivery system the broader the market acceptance and adoption, which will in turn create higher revenue potential for BVT."

These successful results from Phase 2 mean the Company can now begin discussions on contractual arrangements. "In Phase 3, we will be collaborating closer with our new partners to develop the framework for an agreement and to plan for larger scale field trials in 2021," continued Mr. Malik. "We will also be conducting Phase 1 lab trials on additional product candidates - our goal is to have a constant funnel of opportunities for evaluation so we can continuously feed product line extensions to the market over time."

Extending BVT's product line through in-licensing of third-party products is one of the key innovation projects for the Company, enabling it to increase the addressable portion of the US$240 billion(1) crop protection and fertilizer global market. The Company estimates the worldwide market opportunity for in-licensed products to be US$5 billion(2) while BVT's addressable portion for each product will be based on its spectrum of control and the geographic scope of the contractual terms with each third-party partner. The initial products being evaluated by the Company are biological insecticides that can be used together with (called "stacking" two or more microbes together) or separately from BVT's proprietary Clonostachys rosea strain CR-7 resulting in an increased market value of the Company's system to growers and biological fungicides that are already registered in numerous countries. Products that successfully complete all five phases of in-licensing evaluation have the potential to deliver additional revenue and extend BVT's reach geographically and into new crops.

In Phase 1, products are lab-tested for compatibility with BVT's system and beneficial microbe CR-7, and to evaluate if bees can carry the product as they forage. Shortlisted products continue to Phase 2 proof-of-concept field trials to evaluate if the product is delivered successfully to the crop, and for an initial efficacy assessment of the system to control the target pests or diseases.

Phase 3 will have BVT working with partner companies on market and business refinement, including formulating the basis of a potential agreement. Phase 4 will move to large-scale field efficacy trials and could include some bee safety confirmation work; and Phase 5 will involve regulatory work to add bee vectoring as a use to each third-party product label, if needed. After that, BVT will launch the new product line extensions to growers -potentially starting as early as in 2022.

(1) Source: Flueckiger C. Chemical pesticide use will be drastically reduced in the long term. www.FlueckigerConsulting.com.

(2) Source: Company estimates derived from market knowledge of use of fungicides and insecticides to control pests and diseases associated to crop flowering time.

About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.

BVT, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees. BVT's award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides - and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment. Currently, BVT has over 65 granted patents, over 35 patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide, and has US EPA registration of its VECTORITE™ with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.

Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.beevt.com. To receive regular news updates from the Company, subscribe at www.beevt.com/newsletter.

Company Contact:
Ashish Malik, President & CEO
info@beevt.com

Investor Contacts:

Babak Pedram, Investor Relations
Virtus Advisory Group
Tel: 416-995-8651
bpedram@virtusadvisory.com

Adam Lowensteiner, Investor Relations (for US inquires)
Lytham Partners
Tel: 646-829-9700
bevvf@lythampartners.com

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, "annual revenue potential", are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including: planted acres of strawberries in Florida, selling price of competitive chemical pesticides and the US to Canadian dollar exchange rate. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. These factors include changes in law, competition, litigation, the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities, state of the capital markets, the availability of funds and resources to pursue operations, new technologies, the ability to protect intellectual property rights, the ability to obtain patent protection for products, third-party intellectual property infringement claims, regulatory changes affecting products, failing research and development activities, the ability to reach and sustain profitability, dependence on business and technical experts, the ability to effectively manage business operations and growth, issuance of debt, dilution of existing securities, volatility of publicly traded securities, potential conflicts of interest, unlikelihood of dividend payments, the potential costs stemming from defending third-party intellectual property infringement claims, the ability to secure relationships with manufacturers and purchasers, as well as general economic, market and business conditions, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's Filing Statement dated August 14,2020, filed with the CSE and securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. All figures are in Canadian dollars.

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