They immediately began efforts to develop large-scale production systems using their liquid fermentation facilities and to register the product. For a variety of reasons, after two years, the company stopped development of this strain, along with a number of other larger ventures in biotechnology. Consequntly, there was a body of knowledge and intellectual property available. TGT Inc. This company acquired rights to the technology from my lab, and is designed to develop, produce, and market biocontrol products for agriculture. TGT has developed large-scale production processes and facilities that now permit it to produce several hundred tons of biocontrol products each year.
Sales primarily are within the USA, but some products are being sold in Europe and Japan.
The company is succeeding because of its technical base, but critically, because of the business and legal abilities of Rustin Howard and Thomas Stasz. Biocontrol systems, once they are developed can be commercialized, but only if adequate business, legal, and financial expertise, and large-scale production techniques and facilities are available or can be constructed. We are very interested in developing new methods of biocontrol. These proteins degrade chitin, which is a structural component of pathogenic fungi and herbivorous insects. We are investigating large-scale production of the enzymes themselves, and other uses of genes and gene products for the control of plant pests.