Boragen

Boragen is an agricultural biotechnology company headquartered at AgTech Accelerator's facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (also described as Durham, NC), that applies the chemical properties of boron to build novel synthetic chemistry platforms. Its initial focus is next-generation synthetic fungicides with a novel mode of action, licensed from The Pennsylvania State University and developed by researchers Stephen J. Benkovic and C. Tony Liu. The underlying class of small molecules containing a boron atom was originally developed as an anti-fungal for the healthcare industry before being adapted to crop protection.

The stated technical objective is to mitigate fungicide resistance and reduce the total amount of chemical applied per acre while maintaining performance and efficacy. Most existing fungicides have a single-site mode of action, which makes disease-causing fungi susceptible to developing resistance; Boragen's lead compound is described as decreasing the probability of resistance. Beyond crop protection, the company's approach has been described as potentially applicable to animal health and pharmaceutical markets. According to one aggregator profile, the platform later extended beyond agriculture, with the crop protection business spun out into a separate entity named 5Metis alongside two stealth ventures addressing human and animal health.

Sources give conflicting founding dates: one press release states Boragen was established in 2017 in Research Triangle Park, while an aggregator profile states it was founded in 2015. Reported founders include Stephen Benkovic, C. Tony Liu, Lucy Shapiro, Gerald (Gerry) Fink, and Paul Schimmel, drawn from MIT, Penn State, Stanford and The Scripps Research Institute.

Founding story

The core technology, a class of small molecules incorporating a boron atom, was first developed for human health applications as an anti-fungal by scientists including Lucy Shapiro, Gerald Fink and Paul Schimmel. Stephen J. Benkovic of Penn State, together with Penn State researcher C. Tony Liu and others, worked on translating the chemistry into agriculture, and the resulting intellectual property was licensed from The Pennsylvania State University. Liu has said the team obtained proof of concept at Penn State but needed business and commercial support, which it found through AgTech Accelerator; the accelerator then formed and financed the company. Accounts differ on the founding year, with a 2017 press release stating the company was established in 2017 and an aggregator profile citing 2015.

Business model

Boragen develops proprietary synthetic chemistry platforms and compounds, holding intellectual property licensed from Penn State, with the intent of producing commercial fungicide products for agriculture and potential applications in animal health and pharmaceuticals. Sources do not describe product sales or commercial revenue.

Traction

Reported traction is limited to the $10 million Series A, a licensed Penn State technology with a lead compound and stated line of sight to lead products, a team of roughly 12 scientists, recognition by C&EN in 2017, and a later reported spin-out of the crop protection business into 5Metis plus two stealth ventures.

Latest developments

An aggregator profile reports that Boragen's research platform expanded beyond agriculture, resulting in the spin-out of its crop protection division into a new company called 5Metis and the creation of two separate stealth ventures in human and animal health. No dates are given for these developments in the available sources.