MoA Technology Ltd

MoA Technology Ltd is a crop protection discovery company that is revolutionizing the future of weed control in agriculture. The company was spun out of Oxford University's Plant Sciences Department in 2017 from ground-breaking research by co-founders Professor Liam Dolan FRS and Dr. Clement Champion. MoA has developed proprietary platforms, namely GALAXY, TARGET, and SELECT, that utilize miniaturized living plants in combination with cutting-edge techniques in genetics, phenotypic analysis, and data analytics to rapidly screen hundreds of thousands of natural and synthetic chemistries. This unique plant-led approach aims to discover novel modes of action that can control resistant weeds, which pose a significant threat to crop yields worldwide.

MoA's technology addresses the urgent global problem of weed resistance by investigating nature's design for a new generation of safe and sustainable herbicides. Effective and safe weed control is crucial for producing sufficient food for a growing global population, as without it, approximately 40% of crop yields can be lost. However, an innovation drought has forced the industry to rely on a small number of similar products, leading to the evolution of weed resistance. MoA's approach has already yielded an increase in the discovery rate of novel interactions between chemistry and plant biology, which have the potential to control weeds in safe new ways.

In May 2022, MoA secured USD 44 million (GBP 35 million) in Series B financing, co-led by new investor Lansdowne Partners and existing investors Oxford Science Enterprises and Parkwalk Advisors. This investment will enable MoA to advance its portfolio of leads through the next stage of development and further expand its high-throughput in vivo screening platforms. Over the next few years, MoA's pipeline is expected to produce several new candidates to advance into development and registration, with the company pursuing commercial opportunities including collaborations, joint ventures, and downstream partnerships to bring its portfolio to market.