Nov 8, 2021

Vestaron, Cohort Wholesale to bring Spear-Lep to Canada

Vestaron Corp. and Cohort Wholesale have established a partnership that will see Cohort Wholesale lead the Canadian commercialization of Vestaron’s Spear-Lep Insecticide.

Using the power of peptides, Spear-Lep Insecticide introduces new technology with a unique mode of action.  As a biological solution, Spear-Lep delivers synthetic-level efficacy combined with flexible re-entry and pre-harvest intervals as well as exemption from maximum residue limits (MRL’s).  The new insecticide creates the opportunity to incorporate a new mode of action (IRAC Group 32) into fruit and vegetable insect management programs.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Cohort Wholesale in Canada,” Ben Cicora, Vestaron’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing, said in a news release.  “We believe that the new Spear technology combined with Cohort’s market, customer and logistics expertise will be a powerful combination to introduce Spear-Lep and future products into Canada.”

“Spear-Lep is the first new neuromuscular insecticide technology to be introduced in agriculture in the last 14 years.  It is a privilege for our team to be able to introduce it to Canadian retailers and growers,” said Scott Hodgins, Manager of Cohort Wholesale.

Spear-Lep has been submitted to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) for registration which is anticipated in time for the 2022 growing season.

Vestaron is The Peptide Company dedicated to improving the safety, efficacy, and sustainability of crop protection through migration from synthetic pesticides to biological peptides.  Initially, Vestaron is focused on a class of peptides that kills insect pests efficiently, but is safe for humans, birds, fish, pollinators, and the environment. As part of this, the company has developed a proprietary platform for peptide optimization and fermentation-based peptide production that will allow development of a wide variety of biologic crop protection solutions.

Cohort Wholesale is a Canadian wholesaler of preferred-position outdoor fruit and vegetable crop protection products, working with the established retail channel to service all key markets, creating demand for and maximizing the in-field performance of our suppliers’ products to help farmers grow the best crops possible.