A better bug killer? Vestaron Corp.'s spider-venom pesticides could be on market by 2012

Written by John Perney
Sunday, 21 February 2010 06:44

KALAMAZOO — Research lab. Scientists. Spiders. Cue Peter Parker, right?

Well, not quite. Actually, it’s not even close to a comic book storyline. While the work of startup company Vestaron Corp. may depend heavily on spider venom, there’s nary an arachnid to be found in the company’s workspace inside the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center.

“I think a lot of people have the vision that they’re gonna find a roomful of spiders,” says John McIntyre, president and chief executive officer of the nearly 5-year-old company. “But we’ve had only a very limited exposure to actual spiders. It’s all been a technology play.”

It’s technology that results in a different approach to an age-old problem: pest control. The approach, in essence, revolves around the food chain. Those spider webs with dead bugs in the corners of your home? Not a pretty picture, but a telling one.

“For 400 million years spiders have been very good at killing insects,” McIntyre says, “but their venom lacks activity against mammals, such as cats, birds and people.”

Vestaron’s insecticides would be more environmentally friendly than current products, because they come from nature. And they would be more effective because they kill bugs in four ways, making it more difficult for bugs to develop resistance.

Ordinary insecticides, McIntyre said, “tend to attack one of just four sites of action, so insects can very quickly develop resistance.”

Vestaron has researched the venom of the Blue Mountains funnel-web spider, native to Australia, and is developing agricultural insecticides it plans to have on the market in 2012.

Commercial and household pest-control products are also in the company’s plans down the road.

McIntyre’s team — currently 11 full-time employees — have isolated several components of spider venom, called peptides, that are responsible for killing a spider’s prey.

Vestaron is among 14 young life-science companies currently set up in the Innovation Center, located in Western Michigan University’s Business Technology and Research Park. In addition to getting lab space, business services, and access to venture capital and WMU resources, the startups share certain advanced equipment and another valuable resource: employees.

“A few companies are actually sharing their part-time employees,” says Innovation Center CEO Robert DeWit, who calls collaboration “the special sauce” of the Innovation Center.

“Some companies might have more work at one time than another, and it could result in full-time work for those part-time employees,” DeWit said. “There’s a broad base of laboratory skills that transfer quite nicely from task to task.”

Tapping into the emerging green way of life is another Vestaron perk.

“The people who are doing the development work for us think it’s an important benefit to their job-related success,” McIntyre says, adding that it’s also a calling card when it comes to going out to investors for funding.

To date, money hasn’t been a problem. Vestaron has spent more than $8 million, and is now pursuing Series B equity financing.

“We’d like to close that by the end of Q3 of 2010,” McIntyre said. “The key for those dollars would enable us to continue the scale-up process to bring us to that 2012 launch.”

As for testing, Vestaron has done greenhouse evaluations at Michigan State University, performed crop work at WMU, and conducted field trials in California, the upper Midwest, New York state and Florida. While field development and product sales teams would eventually be hired and located outside of Michigan, the company has no plans to leave Kalamazoo.

McIntyre says the company could have up to 30 employees in the area.

“Personally I’m fascinated. It’s a magnificent idea,” DeWit says of Vestaron’s work. “The idea of utilizing nature to accomplish an important task to lower the cost of goods for food production is really cool.”

And spider venom may only be the beginning. According to McIntyre, there is a lot more in nature for Vestaron to harness.

“We believe there will be a continual supply of new insecticidal material — we’re just looking at one spider,” he says. “There are also similar compounds present in other animals — snakes, scorpions, snails — and some plants. We plan to become the experts in this chemistry.”

Read the original publication at Mlive.com here.

Vestaron Named "TiE Midwest 20"Winner

Written by Administrator
Wednesday, 16 December 2009 00:10

KALAMAZOO, Mich., December 8 – Vestaron Corporation has been named a “TiE Midwest 20” winner in the life sciences category,the company announced today. The award was presented at the TiECon Midwest annual conference in Dearborn, Mich. on October 23. The winners were selected by a combination of public opinion polls and experienced industry judges. Vestaron, based in Kalamazoo, Mich., is developing a new generation of insecticides based on the peptides spiders use to kill insects. TiE is a global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship.
John L. McIntyre, Ph.D., president and CEO of Vestaron said, “We are honored to be selected as a “TiE Midwest 20” winner. TiE Detroit is a well known and respected promoter of entrepreneurship. Their recognition of our company is validation of the technology we are developing and the business plan we have in place to bring the next generation of pesticides to the marketplace.”
TiE is a global, not-for-profit, non-political, and non-religious organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs across its international network. Since its founding in 1992, TiE has grown to become the world's largest organization for entrepreneurs and professionals, with membership spread across 53 chapters in 12 countries.

Vestaron is developing a new generation of insecticides using peptides from spiders. The company’s technology is based on ground-breaking research conducted at the University of Connecticut. Over 50 unique, insecticidal spider peptides have been identified. This patented technology is exclusively licensed to Vestaron. Products under development have a unique mode of action, are highly effective against insects and related pests and are harmless to non-target species, including humans. Target markets include agriculture, animal health and specialty non-crop uses such as household insects. Vestaron products will be ideally suited for the environmentally conscious twenty-first century. www.vestaron.com

Elin D. Miller Elected to Vestaron Board

Written by Sue Ann
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 17:28

KALAMAZOO, Mich, August 19 -- Vestaron Corporation (formerly Venomix, Inc.) is pleased to announce that Elin D. Miller has been elected a director of the company. Miller was formerly Regional Administrator for Environmental Protection Agency Region 10, a presidential appointment. She also served as president and CEO of Arysta LifeScience, North America and Australasia.

“We are extremely pleased to have Elin on our board of directors,” said John L. McIntyre, Ph.D., president and CEO of Vestaron. “With her experience as both a government regulator and a corporate executive, Elin can provide valuable guidance as we continue our work to develop insecticides based on the peptides spiders use to kill insects.”

Miller has extensive corporate experience in the field of agricultural chemicals. She has held sales, marketing and senior management positions with Shell Chemical, Dow AgroSciences and Arysta LifeScience. She also has served in government positions with the California EPA, the California Department of Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At EPA she was responsible for all aspects of enforcement and implementation of federal environmental law in Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. She also served as the executive director of the Western Agricultural Chemicals Association, incoming chairman of the National FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) of the Sponsors Board and Chair of RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment).

Miller also has received numerous awards and honors, including the Lea Hitchner Award, the highest honor in the crop protection industry, the California Regulatory Excellence award and was named one of the 50 most powerful women in public relations by PR Week magazine. She is a graduate in Agronomy/Plant Protection from the University of Arizona, where she served as student body vice president and was awarded the Freeman Medal for outstanding woman graduate. She was also a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship.

Miller and her husband Bill actively farm hazelnuts in Umpqua, Oregon.

Vestaron is developing a new generation of insecticides using peptides from spiders. The company’s technology is based on ground-breaking research conducted at the University of Connecticut. Over 50 unique, insecticidal spider peptides have been identified. This patented technology is exclusively licensed to Vestaron. Products under development have a unique mode of action, are highly effective against insects and related pests and are harmless to non-target species, including humans. Target markets include agriculture, animal health and specialty non-crop uses such as household insects. Vestaron products will be ideally suited for the environmentally conscious twenty-first century. www.Vestaron.com

Venomix Changes Name to Vestaron

Written by Sue Ann
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 17:24

KALAMAZOO, Mich., August 11 – Vestaron Corporation today announced that it has completed a corporate name change from Venomix, Inc. to Vestaron Corporation. Vestaron, a privately held biotechnology company, is developing a new generation of insecticides based on the peptides spiders use to kill insects.

“Venomix spoke to our roots; Vestaron speaks to our future,” said company President and CEO John L. McIntyre, Ph.D. “Our goal is to be a leader in the drive to find new insecticides that are highly effective and environmentally benign. We believe Vestaron better communicates that message.”

Vestaron is developing a new generation of insecticides using peptides from spiders. The company’s technology is based on ground-breaking research conducted at the University of Connecticut. Over 50 unique, insecticidal spider peptides have been identified. This patented technology is exclusively licensed to Vestaron. Products under development have a unique mode of action, are highly effective against insects and related pests and are harmless to non-target species, including humans. Target markets include agriculture, animal health and specialty non-crop uses such as household insects. Vestaron products will be ideally suited for the environmentally conscious twenty-first century. www.vestaron.com