Melbourne, Australia; 13 November 2014: Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPL, OTCQX: SPHRY) today announced that the State Intellectual Property Office of China has agreed to grant a formulation patent for Priostar^® dendrimers with agrochemicals, including with glyphosate. This will further strengthen and expand Starpharma’s patent portfolio for the use of its proprietary dendrimers in agrochemical products.

Glyphosate is the world’s leading herbicide with global sales in excess of US$5B in 2012.  China is the largest glyphosate producer in the world with glyphosate production capacity exceeding 600,000 tonnes as at the end of 2012.

 “Priostar^® dendrimers have been shown to enhance the performance of glyphosate formulations, especially when used with hard-to-kill weeds. The allowance of this patent will further support commercial exploitation of Starpharma’s dendrimer technology in China and, because of China’s leading position in manufacture of glyphosate, globally.” said Starpharma Chief Executive Officer Jackie Fairley.

Patent applications covering this subject matter have also been filed in the other major agrochemical markets. The Chinese patent application is the first of these to be allowed.

The term of this patent is projected to be until 2030. 

Download ASX Announcement: Starpharma's Priostar® Glyphosate Patent Allowed in China (pdf file, 97kb)