Company: EVGN
Filing Date: 2025-03-27
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001178913-25-001092
Chunk: 91

Company: Evogene Ltd.
Filing Date: 2025-03-27
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 91
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 time, effort and financial resources, and we cannot be certain that any approvals for Biomica’s product candidates will be granted on a timely basis, if at all.
 
Government Regulation of Product Candidates
 
The development of therapeutic products targeting the underlying biology of the human microbiome is an emerging field, and it is possible that the FDA and other regulatory authorities could issue regulations or new policies in the future affecting our microbiome therapeutics that could adversely affect Biomica's product candidates. All of Biomica’s product candidates are based on microbiome therapy, a therapeutic approach that is designed to treat disease by restoring or providing the targeted functions to a dysbiotic microbiome. Biomica has not received regulatory approval for an oral therapeutic based on this approach. To our knowledge, only two companies received such regulatory approval as of the date of this Annual Report.
Industrial Applications
 
Casterra Ag Ltd.
 
Overview
 
Our activities related to castor seeds were initiated in 2007 and in 2012 were organized under a wholly owned subsidiary, currently named Casterra Ag Ltd. Casterra focuses on the development of an integrated solution for castor cultivation, including advanced non-GMO high-yielding castor seed varieties, growth protocols, and compatible agricultural machinery. Casterra’s main target markets are Africa and Brazil, where large scale castor agriculture and industry are well established. During 2024, Casterra’s sales of seeds increased significantly, while also increasing its production capabilities, by signing agreements with seed producers in Kenya and Brazil.
Market
 
Castor beans are grown for their high-quality oil, which is used for the production of bio-based products for various industrial applications such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, paints, lubricants, plastics, coats, films and others, as well as for the production of bio-diesel. Currently treated as a “low-tech” crop in its key production areas around the world (for example, in India the castor bean is grown using traditional techniques such as hand picking), according to industry estimations, the castor oil extracted from the castor bean plant may hold great promise as an input for industrial markets. The global castor oil market is projected to grow from an estimated value of $1.4 billion in 2022 to reach $2.3 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 5.1%.12
 
Competition
 
Casterra’s competition in its target markets mainly includes a few companies that supply castor seeds to growers worldwide, such as Kaiima Seeds and Terasol.
 
Business