The soul of an entrepreneur is not to make money, but to make the world a better place.

Overview

In 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) approved the first RNAi insect-resistant maize, Smartstax Pro (MON87411), which produces dsRNA targeting the sucrose nonfermenting 7 (Snf7) gene in combination with Bt proteins (Cry3Bb1 and Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1) for control of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera. Although the Chinese government has taken steps to establish a clear path for the approval and commercialization of genetic modified crops, our transplastomic crops are not able to enter the market in near future. Therefore, HUBU-China team also attempted to produce RNA interference (RNAi) pesticide using gut bacteria of insects. This pesticide could kill coleopteran insects as quickly as 4 days and be degraded naturally in soil and water in 10–14 days.

To commercialize our project, we designed a complete business plan. In order to have a greater impact on the world, as part of supporting entrepreneurship, we plan to apply for a patent and set up a startup company to promote our project. We designed a complete business planFor the project, this can be found in the attached file.

First, unmet needs and potential customers

Virus-like particle VLPs is a revolutionary delivery system, which can be used to accurately prevent crop diseases and has many application scenarios. Antibody fragments that can be designed independently also provide products with more accurate targeting and richer disease resistance possibilities for different plants and diseases. We hope to cut into the track accurately, solve social pain points and create value for world agriculture. Therefore, we introduced the analysis of unmet needs and potential customers at the beginning of the business plan, which we think is very important for commercialization.

sUnmet needs and pain points:

According to FAO statistics, agricultural pests destroyed as many as 40% of the world's crops, causing losses as high as 220 billion dollars. We often use chemical pesticides to reduce this loss. China has 9% of cultivated land and uses 50%-60% of chemical pesticides in the world. Chemical pesticides have caused irreversible pollution to our soil, groundwater and ecological environment. Therefore, we often use less chemical pesticides to solve this problem. Reducing chemical pesticides is a three-pronged problem, which will lead to food disasters and threaten food security. How to solve this three-pronged problem?

According to our research, the current plant diseases and insect pests market mainly has the following problems:

(1) The traditional chemical, physical and biological insecticidal methods have the pain points of environmental pollution, limited scale and easy drug resistance. In view of these pain points, the plasmid-mediated RNA interference technology developed by our team can achieve the goal of green, efficient, large-scale application and not easy to produce drug resistance.

(2) dsRNA expressed in nuclear transgenic plant cells will be converted into short siRNA by Dicer. However, because long-chain dsRNA plays a role in COLEOPTERA, the traditional way to control COLEOPTERA is mass transfer, because there is no Dicer enzyme cleavage in chloroplasts, and the expressed dsRNA can exist stably. However, in the face of high-activity dsRNase in the intestinal tract of Lepidoptera, dsRNA cannot exist stably. We found that siRNA is more stable and effective than dsRNA, but the control effect is still not satisfactory.

Corresponding solutions:

Combined with the artificial seed project that we have been exposed to before, the seeds are coated with trehalose to provide protection, thus improving their germination rate. We have a new idea in the collision of thinking, that is, to wrap RNA with a layer of protein shell, so that it is not easy to be degraded.

After consulting a lot of data, we know that virus-like particles VLPs are very safe, which are similar to virus particles in structure and can be passed through the same. Among them, MS2 VLP can effectively protect RNA from degradation like armor, and the efficiency of entering cells is higher after adding membrane-penetrating peptide.

In the experiment, we fed the newly hatched Spodoptera litura larvae with transgenic strains. According to the experimental phenomena and data analysis, the following results were obtained. The pupation failure rate and deformity rate of Spodoptera litura fed with MS2-amiR-CHS1 bacteria are higher and more effective.

Second, market segmentation and customer analysis

Divide the market based on rrop type. Different crops may have different requirements and usage habits of pesticides, and green pesticide companies can provide corresponding products and solutions according to crop types. Our target market is subdivided into tobacco, potato, eggplant, pepper, poplar and willow.

Divide the market by consumer type. According to the needs and preferences of different consumer groups, the target market is subdivided into individual small farmers and large-scale agricultural producers.

By subdividing the target market, green pesticide companies can better understand the needs and characteristics of different market segments, provide targeted products and solutions, enhance market competitiveness and meet the needs of consumers. At the same time, the company also needs to formulate corresponding marketing strategies, including pricing, channel selection, brand promotion and sales promotion, in order to achieve competitive advantage in the target market.

The data of the third central agricultural census show that the number of small farmers accounts for more than 98% of the agricultural business entities. At the same time, according to the documents issued by the central government, we should focus on farmers' cooperatives and family farms. The target markets of new pesticides for guarding grain safety are individual small farmers, farmers' cooperatives and family farms.

In the market positioning, according to the composition of the new pesticide, it is positioned as a non-chemical, efficient and green pesticide with good quality and low price, which caters to the economic level of small farmers' consumers.

Through marketing and product introduction, the new pesticide of Shouliangan will be shaped into an image of environmental protection, non-toxic and pollution-free, and can improve the soil.

The market position of the new pesticide for Shouliangan is a biological pesticide which is cheap, green, non-toxic and pollution-free, and can improve the soil.

3.5 Operation mode

Owing to the lack of large-scale production capacity of RNAi pesticide, this project mode adopts the sales mode of CSO sales and the production mode of CMO processing. The team plans to cooperate with the fermentation foundry to provide fermentation strains, fermentation broth formula and technical guidance to the foundry, which is responsible for strain culture and fermentation. This model can help you reduce production costs, save equipment investment and human resources, and focus on core technologies and market development. At the same time, the team entrusts external partners such as Zhisheng Yougu and Dabei Nong to be responsible for the sales and distribution of products. After the project matures, it will gradually apply for qualification to form the integration of R&D, production and sales, develop and cultivate its own channels, and directly supply target customers to reduce the cost of intermediate circulation links and maximize profits.

To achieve the goal of profit maximization, this project will realize the comprehensive profit of the project by cooperating with downstream enterprises to collect product technical guidance service fees, product sales fees, technology licensing fees, etc.

technical feasibility, scalability and creativity

1. Technical feasibility

The unique advantages of plasmid-mediated RNA interference technology are:

(1) High copy and high expression (because the chloroplast copy number is very high, for example, it can reach 10,000 genome copies in tobacco, so it has the potential of high expression of foreign genes).

(2) matrilineal inheritance (there is no plastid in pollen, and foreign genes will not cause environmental safety problems with pollen diffusion)

(3) Position effect (compared with random nuclear insertion, chloroplast transformation is site-specific integration, so there is no position effect)

2. Market viability

According to the statistics of Phillips McDougall, a seed and pesticide consulting company under Agrow's parent company Informa, the global pesticide market sales in 2022 was 78.193 billion US dollars. Among them, the proportion of pesticides for crops is close to 90%, the market sales amount is 69.256 billion US dollars, and the CAGR is 5.0% in recent five years.

In terms of regions, Asia-Pacific and Latin America are the largest and fastest growing regional markets. In 2022, the market sales in the Asia-Pacific region was 21.885 billion US dollars, accounting for 32%, and the CAGR was 6.1% in the past five years; Latin American market sales reached 19.137 billion US dollars, accounting for 28%, and CAGR was 8.6% in recent five years. It can be seen that the demand for pesticides in the Asia-Pacific region is also increasing year by year.

From the global background, first, under the influence of the epidemic, international food trade was blocked, and energy, labor and sea freight rates rose sharply, triggering a global food crisis; Second, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the two major grain producers, has almost paralyzed production and supply, further aggravating the international community's concern about the instability of the global grain supply chain; Third, extreme weather such as drought and cold wave frequently occur, the output of major grain exporting countries in the world has declined, and export restrictions have been continuously introduced in panic, which has led to an increase in the world food gap; Fourth, during the epidemic, various economies generally implemented loose monetary policies, which led to rising inflation levels. As a result, food prices continued to rise, which led to a rebound in pesticide prices.

Therefore, the pesticide industry has entered a high boom cycle. The pesticide sales of the four multinational pesticide giants Syngenta, Bayer, BASF and Kedihua have increased rapidly, and the sales of the top 100 pesticide enterprises in China have increased, and the pesticide market is very good.

China is a big agricultural country with frequent pests and diseases and relatively fragile agricultural ecological environment, and food security cannot be separated from the escort of pesticides. However, it is worth emphasizing that the excessive use of pesticides, the increase in production costs caused by unscientific application methods, the excessive residues of agricultural products, and environmental pollution are also worthy of attention. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and food safety, countries have further strengthened their control over the pesticide industry. In recent years, many varieties with top market share, such as paraquat, chlorothalonil, mancozeb, chlorpyrifos, etc., have encountered the policy of prohibition and restriction in major consumer markets around the world.

Therefore, developing new pesticides with high efficiency, low toxicity and environmental protection, and upgrading products are the best way to deal with the risk of variety prohibition and restriction. The "Tenth Five-Year Plan" for the Development of National Pesticide Industry has taken the adjustment of product structure as one of the key tasks, and clearly put forward "supporting the development of new chemical pesticides with high efficiency and low risk, vigorously developing biological pesticides, gradually phasing out old pesticide varieties and formulations with strong resistance, poor efficacy and high risk, and strictly controlling high-toxic and high-risk pesticides and additives with environmental persistence and bioaccumulation".

2. Competition analysis

(1) Chemical insecticidal method

Using chemical pesticides to control agricultural pests is convenient, economical, efficient and quick. However, with the extensive use of chemical pesticides, it has caused serious environmental pollution. Chemical pesticides have great toxicity to many non-target organisms and caused irreparable damage to the entire ecosystem. In recent years, more and more chemical pesticides have been banned due to environmental pollution, biological residues, drug resistance and other problems caused by excessive use of pesticides.

(2) Physical insecticidal method

By trapping and killing with lights, trapping eggs with straw handles, trapping and killing with stick insect, trapping and other methods. Physical pest control is friendly to the environment, but the range of pest control is limited, the cost is too high, and the pest control effect is unstable, so it can not cope with the large-scale pest problem.

(3) Biological insecticidal method

The application of Bt cotton, an insect-resistant plant, is environmentally friendly, with good insecticidal effect and high economic benefits. However, with the extension of use time, insects have developed drug resistance, and Bt protein has only an insect-resistant effect on some insects, and the expression level of Bt protein is easily affected by environmental factors.

3.1 Financial model

The initial investment capital was 8 million CNY, including 2 million CNY registered capital, and various research fundings (Table 1).

Table 1 Source table of initial investment funds

Our project was derived from 2021 in Plastid Genetic Engineering laboratory in Hubei University. In 2022, the initial results were obtained, and the patents were authorized. One year later, a small company was registered and started to operate. The initial funds mainly utilized for hardware purchasing, working capital and start-up expenses (Tables 2, 3).

Table 2 Initial investment fund distribution.

It took 1.98 million CNY to buy the fixed assets, accounting for 33% of total assets (Table 3).

Table 3 Investment in fixed assets.

The start-up fund was 300,000 CNY, accounting for 5% of the total assets (Table 4).

Table 4 Start-up expenses (CNY).

3 Development strategy

Initial stage.

In The initial strategy is mainly to provide services, the team responds to the call of the province to support college students to start their own businesses, reasonable use of the relevant small and medium-sized enterprises to support the steady development of innovative policies. Pre-team and team cooperation, gradually improve the production process, and constantly improve product quality and competitiveness. At the same time in product marketing, marketing strategy, seize the local market, establish a good sales network and long-term stable transactions of the cooperative enterprise.

In the medium-term strategy, continuous research and development will be carried out in the medium-term, and the production companies that shift the sales focus to RNAi pesticides will enter the growth period, increase investment, purchase production equipment and expand production scale. Focus on product quality, actively optimize pesticide production process, and constantly improve its reliability and safety. To help develop leading enterprises in China's agricultural industry to gain greater market share. The use of accumulated sales resources, the use of high stability and price advantage to obtain competitive advantages, so that the company's production of pesticides into the public view, expand the market size.

(1) in the later stage of the strategy, we should mainly sell plants, persist in the research and development of pesticide products, constantly improve the quality of products, increase the production automation ratio and reduce the cost; establish good and stable cooperative relations with enterprises outside the school; To develop wider application market and promote the development of pesticide field. Dedicated to efficient use.

4 Long-term effects

4.1 Profitability analysis

As can be seen from the table, the total asset turnover rate showed an increasing trend, indicating that the company's sales income increased, the enterprise's operational capacity to improve. The turnover rate of the company is about 1, is within the normal range, the use of working capital effect is good. The turnover rate of accounts receivable is stable at 5, the average collection period is short, the assets flow is fast, and the debt paying ability is strong.

4.2 Solvency analysis

4.3 Analysis of operating capacity

The total asset turnover rate is increasing, indicating that the company's sales revenue has increased and the company's operating capabilities have improved. The company's turnover accounts for about 1 time, which is within the normal range. The effect of utilization of working capital is good. The turnover rate of receivables is stable at five, the average collection period is over, the asset flow is fast, and the solvency is limited.

Table 5 Operational capability analysis.

4.4 Analysis of development ability

With the expansion of market and the increase of market share, both the sales revenue net profit of the company keeps a rapid growth (Table 6). Currently, our company is in the growth period, business continues to expand and profitability increase unceasingly. The rate of capital accumulation reflects the level of owners’ equity, which symbolizes the prosperity of company and great potential of development.

During the next five years, the capital accumulation rate of the company is kept in a stable range, indicating that our company can actively and effectively cope with risks and keep a good trend of development.

Table 6 Analysis of development ability.