Davis-based biological controls company Invasive Species Corp. has closed a $2.5 million round of pre-seed funding from Singapore-based Silverstrand Capital.
The company will use the investment to commercialize some existing products and develop new products to combat invasive species using biological controls rather than harsh chemicals, said Pam Marrone, executive chairperson and co-founder of Invasive Species Corp.
Silverstrand’s director, Peter Kennedy, was an early investor in Marrone’s previous company, Marrone Bio Innovations Inc., Marrone said.
“I have known and invested with Pam for many years, and we believe her team has the experience needed to address one of the largest and most underserved opportunities in the ag-tech space,” Kennedy said, in a news release.
Marrone is a pioneer in biological controls. She previously started three biologics companies in Davis, all of which were sold to larger companies. Marrone Bio went to an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market and then was sold last year after nearly a decade for $236 million to Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq: BIOX) of Rosario, Argentina.
Marrone, who retired as CEO of Marrone Bio in 2020, said she had a three-year non-compete agreement when she left the company.
“I had three years off,” she said. “I didn’t expect to start again, but there is so much work that needs to be done.”
Invasive Species Corp. is developing a less expensive version of Zequanox, a biological control developed by Marrone Bio and effectively used to eradicate invasive zebra and quagga mussels in waterways, lakes, dams and pipes.
Zequanox was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2012 for mussel control in enclosed systems, such as intake pipes for dams, manufacturers and golf courses. The product was approved by the EPA in 2014 for open waterways.
Zequanox worked well, but it was expensive, Marrone said. The new company is working to bring the cost of the treatment down to be more viable.
The company is also working on biological controls for invasive Asian carp, and for burrowing shrimp which are a problem for commercial oyster production. Invasive Species Corp. is also working on biological controls to kill weeds, which is the holy grail of biological controls because most chemical controls for weeds are harsh and are increasingly being banned all over the world.
This week, Marrone was in Washington state collecting samples to search for microbes it can develop into a control for burrowing shrimp. That effort, on behalf of Washington’s coastal shellfish farms, is for a recently awarded $388,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Invasive Species Corp. launched in November last year with Marrone as its chairwoman and former Marrone Bio President Jim Boyd as its CEO. At the launch, the company was just the two of them. It has now grown to a team of seven including three scientists in addition to Marrone.
The company operates virtually, and has research lab space in the UC Davis-HM.Clause Life Science Innovation Center south of Davis. Marrone said the company isn’t currently looking for a permanent office space. “We’re small," she said. "We are trying to be careful with our expenses.”
