Innovative herbicide discovery firm MoA Technology moves to TOSP
Innovative herbicide discovery firm MoA Technology moves to TOSPThird occupier for Bellhouse Building at The Oxford Science Park
Oxford, UK, June 28 2021 – MoA Technology, which is focused on providing farmers with a diverse choice of innovative technologies for weed control, is the third occupier of the Bellhouse Building at The Oxford Science Park (TOSP), one of the UK’s leading parks for science and technology companies. The Oxford University spinout is based on research in the group of Professor Liam Dolan, previously a Fellow of Magdalen College, which owns the Park. In its 5,400 sq ft of new laboratory and office space, MoA will be advancing a new generation of safe and sustainable herbicide products towards the market. TOSP provided a turnkey solution for MoA Technology, project managing and financing its fit-out.
Currently employing 25 staff, and expecting to expand further in the coming months, MoA Technology was spun-out from Oxford University’s Department of Plant Sciences in 2018. Using its three innovative herbicide discovery platforms, the company aims to develop natural and synthetic chemistries that will provide excellent, sustainable and economic weed control in a broad range of crops. The company uses a plant-led approach and artificial intelligence to pinpoint and elucidate an abundance of new herbicidal modes of action, which are the key to solving the herbicide resistance challenge now threatening the agricultural industry. Used together in sequence, its platforms can quickly and cost-effectively find the safe weed control solutions farmers need.
Investors include BGF, Shanghai-based Bits x Bites, Oxford Sciences Innovation and Parkwalk Advisers. MoA Technology is the fifth company to graduate from the Oxford BioEscalator to The Oxford Science Park, and is one of several OSI investee companies to be located there.
Dr Virginia Corless, CEO of MoA Technology, said, ‘Relocating to the Bellhouse Building puts us at the heart of a vibrant community of innovation. MoA Technology is delighted to be in our new facilities, which will allow us to accelerate the development of novel mode of action herbicides, solving an urgent problem for farmers today and becoming building blocks of a sustainable agricultural future.’
Rory Maw, Bursar of Magdalen College & Interim MD of TOSP, said, ‘As our first plant sciences-based occupier, MoA Technology is a great addition to the innovation mix on the Park. We welcome it to the Bellhouse Building where it will be located alongside Enara Bio and Sitryx.’
--ENDS—
For more information, please contact:
The Oxford Science Park
Emma Palmer Foster
Tel: +44 (0)7880 787185
[email protected]
Notes to Editors
About The Oxford Science Park
The Oxford Science Park is owned and managed by Magdalen College, Oxford. Created in 1991, the Park upholds the College’s heritage and provides one of the most influential science & technology environments in the UK. There is approaching 750,000 square feet of workspace accommodation across the Park, which is now home to 2,700 people and more than 130 businesses. These range from start-ups based in the Magdalen Centre innovation hub to major international companies and include Blue Earth Diagnostics, MiroBio, OrganOx, OxSonics Therapeutics, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, OXGENE, ProImmune, Oxford Sciences Innovation, Evox Therapeutics, Vaccitech, Exscientia, Sensyne Health and Intuitive Surgical.
In addition to being a key property investment, the Park is at the heart of Magdalen College's strategy to support discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will continue to develop The Oxford Science Park as a long-term strategic asset, with ambitious plans to create an additional 500,000+ sq ft of office and laboratory space on the remaining 12 acres of land over the next 3-5 years. This additional capacity will support the growth of businesses already based on the Park, providing flexible workspace accommodation, and enabling new companies to enjoy the Park’s exceptional environment and collegiate and collaborative ethos. The Oxford Science Park is located approximately four miles south-east of Oxford city centre, just off the City’s southern ring road. It has easy access to the M40 and A34, as well as to Heathrow Airport and mainline train services. For further information, please visit: www.oxfordsp.com or follow us on twitter @OxfordSciencePK