In January of this year, GAI News reported that both new and existing investors were on-board to back Quebec-based Thymox – a clean technology startup dedicated to botanically derived animal health, crop protection, and environmental disinfection.
Thymox has now announced that it successfully closed on a $4.6 million Series B led by current investors, Cycle Capital Management and Desjardins Innovatech, and including new investor, Germain Benoit from Gercanoit, among others.
“We are entering a very exciting phase of our company’s growth,” said Frank Palantoni, CEO of Laboratoire M2, the makers of THYMOX™. “We’re extremely pleased to welcome our new investors to this round, and also to see our current investors, Desjardins Innovatech and Cycle Capital Management, participate. We now have the resources to globally commercialize our greentech disinfecting technology platform.”
Thymox was founded on the idea that the best way to attack and kill dangerous pathogens found in nature was to use nature’s own arsenal. They found that thymol, the active ingredient present in the essential oil of the herb, thyme, is a biodegradable agent that has strong anti-microbial properties and is able to kill pathogens on surfaces and in agricultural settings.
While extremely effective, thymol is also non-toxic so that animals and even humans can safely consume the plant-based chemical, evidenced by the fact that thymol is used in personal care products such as Listerine mouthwash. Thymol targets dangerous pathogens that are small compared to the size of a living cell, and has a relatively easy time puncturing a cell membrane and killing the pathogen, leaving living cells unharmed.
“That’s the background of the technology whereby we’re taking really cool molecules found in nature and using them in a good way,” Frank Palantoni, chief executive of Thymox, told GAI News this past January.
Thymox on the Farm
Challenges associated with maintaining optimum animal health are always a major expense for agricultural producers. In the dairy sector alone, animal health issues can cost the industry up to $1 billion in lost production per year.
One widespread issue facing the sector is digital dermatitis. Known since the 1970s, the disease causes painful lesions on cows’ hooves caused by standing in manure on abrasive barn floors and in organized high-density operations.
Until today, farmers have been treating the disease and cleaning cows’ hooves with formaldehyde or copper sulfate – two caustic chemicals that treat the resulting lameness but do not eliminate the problem. However, Thymox is able to to safely and effectively kill treponemes that enter a cow’s skin, causing lesions.
Additionally, Thymox is an effective crop protection agent through its ability to mitigate bacteria, improving soil health and crop quality, and has been proven effective in controlling citrus greening – a disease caused by psyllids that is attacking the citrus industry, and which currently has no cure.
“Bringing a new biological solution with such broad applications into new markets is a significant challenge. We’re proud to partner with a great entrepreneurial team to meet the challenge and pursue commercial growth,” added Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and managing partner at Cycle Capital Management.
A Pivotal Year
As we near the midpoint of 2017, this year is proving to be a pivotal time for Thymox, as the company is shifting out of product development and into full-scale commercialization on three continents.
“With our accelerating commercial momentum, we expect to continue to attract partnership interest from major strategic players in the Animal Health sector,” said Palantoni.
-Lynda Kiernan
Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com
Gerelyn Terzo contributed to this article.
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