Each year, Sacramento Business Journal inno reporter Mark Anderson identifies the top local startups set to make waves in the year ahead. This year, Invasive Species Corp. is one of 11 that made the cut.
Invasive Species Corp.
Davis-based Invasive Species Corp. launched in November 2022, led by Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. founder and former CEO Pam Marrone and former Marrone Bio President Jim Boyd as its CEO. At the start, it was just the two of them. It has grown to a team of seven including three scientists in addition to Marrone. At the end of 2023, Invasive Species Corp. 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 Marrone, who is also executive chairperson of Invasive Species. Corp. 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. of Rosario, Argentina. Invasive Species 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. The company is developing biological controls for invasive Asian carp and burrowing shrimp. It 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. 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.”
