ELICIR

A new solution for agriculture in need of efficient bio solution

ELICIR develops a breakthrough innovation patented by Dr Christelle Barbreau. The product is a 100 % biobased extract from an edible plant that enables crops to:

• resist to pathogen (bacteria, virus and fungi) using the same biological pathways that are used by plant that are naturally resistant, and
• optimize their growth, and ability to better use water and nutrients.

The resistance generated by ELICIR does not limit the yield. On the contrary, the growth optimization effect has always shown significant yield increase, from 20% to 100 % depending on the plant and conditions.

The product, a water-soluble  powder, is sprayed on aerial parts, just as chemicals are today. It will be part of the agro ecological revolution to come, enabling agriculture to be both productive and eco-friendly.  

ELICIR modes of action, for its growth bio stimulant capacity, as for its defence priming capacity are triggering universal plant biological pathways, so that the product is efficient on all tested plants, from perennial trees or wines to annual lettuce or sugar beets, for examples.

ELICIR does protect efficiently plants against diseases that are until now technological dead ends with major economical impacts: sugar beet jaundice, Xylella fastidiosa on olive trees …

Managed by complementary and expert founders

ELICIR company has been started with three complementary entrepreneurs:

• Dr Christelle BARBREAU is trained as a phytopathologist. She is also an expert in  plant protection product European regulation. Christelle focuses on R&D, with two scientists working inside Montpellier University premises and two for field tests, and market authorization proces.
• Christophe BONAZZI is an agronomist engineer, PhD in industrial economics, who spent his career developing high tech companies. In ELICIR, Christophe is in charge of, financing, legal, partnership and general management.
• Last, Georges Cornuejols is a seasoned and award winner patent attorney, in charge of the IP strategy.

They gather a large set of complementary skills and share the ambition of making ELICIR a successful company.

With a structured plan to grow

Considering that phytochemical industry hasn't come out with any new molecule/mode of action since 1997, and that climate change creates new growing conditions, there is no doubt agriculture will undergo some significant evolution.

ELICIR does no claim to be 'the' solution, but it will be part of the new tool box of biosolutions.

By mid-2024, industrialisation will be completed, and market authorisation dossiers will be filed. Considering efficiency and harmlessness have already largely been proven using regulatory requested methodology, market authorisation is a matter of time. For its commercial launching, ELICIR will first  be authorized on 7 crops in Europe:  wine, tomatoes, cucumber, salads, olive, sugar beet and forest for growth, and powdery mildew, mildew, walnut bacteria blight, olive tree Xyllela, sugar beet jaundice and rose marsonia for crop protection (PPP).

Market contacts are already established. The strategic challenge is to select and enter markets that will be able to pay for the product, along with its cost decrease resulting from economy of scale. Economy of scale can lead to divide costs by more than ten, from raw material cost to process and logistic.

High value markets are identified in each of these crops such as home gardens, in vitro multiplication, nurseries (for trees, tomatoes, …), seed treatment, organic farming, high value wines, etc.

Some sales can also start before market authorisation in countries where regulation for plant based growth bio stimulant is less stringent : e.g., Austria, Belgium, Czech [BC1]  Republic, Sweden, …

A complementary route to market is to partner with complementary technical solutions. Agro ecology  is a very active sector, and no client is willing to test all  emerging solutions. It is critical to understand each crop and region challenge, and offer suitable complete combined solutions to producers.

As in all technological transition, technical excellence isn’t enough to succeed. Marketing, sales force, strategic alliances with powerful partners are critical.

Building an international profitable industrial company

ELICIR international growth is a major part of the strategy. The product makes it relatively simple to do. A dry powder is easy to use and easy to travel. And the production process, once finalized, can be reproduced for remote and large markets.

The plan is to set a USA branch once the European production and Market authorisation is on its way. Several contacts have already been taken, and the market authorization strategy is studied with a local consulting firm. We believe that a US branch should be designed to be as local as possible, mainly managed and financed by local team and resources, who will be chose in agricultural market supply expert.