NextGenBioPest at Prague Bio 2024!

On September 24th, 2024, our partner Preagon Biotech presented NextGenBioPest-related research at Prague Bio 2024, a major biotechnology conference held in Prague, Czechia. The contribution, a poster titled "Environmentally Friendly Insecticides: Targeting Pests with Precision", introduced the technology of selective juvenoids to an audience of about 1,000 participants from science, business and industry.

Conference page: https://conference.prague.bio/praguebio2024

A Different Kind of Audience

Unlike a purely academic meeting, Prague Bio brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and industry representatives under one roof. For a technology that is moving from the laboratory towards practical application, this mix is particularly valuable. It allows scientific ideas to be tested against the questions that matter in the marketplace: Is the approach selective? Is it safe? Can it be developed into a product that growers will want to use?

By presenting at Prague Bio, Preagon Biotech placed the science of selective insecticides in front of the people who can help turn it into real-world solutions.

Precision as a Principle

The poster presented the technology of selective juvenoids, compounds designed to act on the juvenile hormone pathway that governs insect development. Their appeal lies in precision. Rather than affecting a wide range of insects, selective juvenoids can be designed to target specific pests while sparing pollinators, natural enemies and other beneficial organisms.

This principle sits at the heart of NextGenBioPest. The project is working to expand the crop protection toolbox beyond conventional pesticides, and selectivity is one of the key qualities that make a new tool genuinely sustainable and compatible with integrated pest management.

Building Visibility Beyond Academia

Reaching an industry-oriented audience is an essential part of the path from innovation to impact. Posters at events like Prague Bio spark conversations with potential partners, users and supporters, and help raise awareness of eco-friendly insecticide technologies in sectors that will eventually adopt and scale them.

This presentation took place only one week after Preagon Biotech's talk at the Joint Eastport/Promega User Meeting, also in Prague. Together, the two appearances reached both specialist scientists and the wider biotech business community within a single week.