France Authorizes Amoéba’s Biofungicide AXPERA for Vineyards and Vegetable Crops

Amoéba, a French greentech company focused on microbiological products, said Wednesday that it has received marketing authorization in France for its biofungicide AXPERA, clearing the way for commercial sales in vineyards and several vegetable crops.

The authorization was granted by ANSES, France’s food, environmental and occupational health agency, after France reviewed the product as the rapporteur member state for the European Union process. The decision gives Amoéba its first long-term approval for AXPERA in Europe and allows other countries involved in the same review zone to move toward completing their own national procedures on their own timelines.

For wine producers, the French approval matters because it adds a new biocontrol option for managing two of the most important fungal threats in vineyards, downy mildew and powdery mildew. That could widen the range of tools available to growers trying to reduce chemical residues, meet retailer and export requirements, and adapt disease-control programs in both conventional and organic production.

According to the company, AXPERA is now approved in France for use on wine grapes and table grapes against downy mildew and powdery mildew in open-field conditions. It is also authorized for cucurbits, tomatoes, eggplant, basil, lettuce and artichokes against several fungal diseases, including late blight and mildew, depending on the crop and growing conditions.

Amoéba said the product works by inhibiting the germination of fungal spores. It is intended for preventive use and can be applied on its own, within a treatment program or alongside other fungicides approved for the same disease.

The company described the French authorization as a key step in the start of AXPERA’s commercial rollout with Koppert, its partner for distribution. Amoéba said Koppert plans to market the product under the name TIAGAN for vineyard uses and YAZU for vegetable crops once approvals are in place.

The approval is valid for 15 years and can be renewed. Amoéba said that because France acted as the zonal rapporteur member state, other concerned European countries can now finalize their national reviews. Applications for open-field uses have already been submitted in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, according to the company. Applications for protected uses have also been filed in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Poland and Germany. Amoéba added that those protected uses are also expected to be part of mutual recognition filings in 12 additional member states with a view to market access beginning in 2027.

The company said AXPERA has been approved as a low-risk product and can be used in both conventional and organic farming under applicable rules. It also said ANSES authorized what it called favorable conditions of use, including a re-entry period of 6 hours in open fields and 8 hours in protected conditions, a pre-harvest interval of 1 day, and safety distances of 5 meters from bodies of water and 3 meters from people.

One point likely to draw attention from grape growers and wine supply chains is the regulatory status of AXPERA’s active ingredient. Amoéba said the active substance, identified as lysate of Willaertia magna C2c Maky, is on the list of substances exempt from maximum residue limits. In practice, that may make compliance easier for growers and marketers because treated crops would not require residue testing tied to an MRL threshold for that active ingredient.

That feature could be especially relevant in European wine regions where producers face pressure from buyers, certification schemes and public policy to lower pesticide residues while maintaining disease control. It may also support vineyard programs linked to environmental labels or private standards that reward lower-input practices, although adoption will depend on local agronomic results, pricing and how growers integrate the product into existing spray schedules.

Amoéba also said AXPERA is intended to be added to France’s list of biocontrol products. If that happens, the company said it could help with environmental certifications and specifications such as High Environmental Value and Zero Pesticide Residue programs, while also improving acceptance among farmers, distributors and industry groups.

Jean-Baptiste Eberst, Amoéba’s regulatory affairs director, said in a statement that the French approval marks “the very first long-term authorization” of the company’s biocontrol product in Europe and opens the way for approvals in other countries. Jean-Marc Petat, managing director of Green for Agro, an Amoéba subsidiary specializing in biosolutions, said the 15-year authorization would help accelerate commercialization with Koppert.

Amoéba was founded in 2010 and is based in Chassieu near Lyon. The company says it specializes in natural microbiological solutions using amoebae-based technology for plant protection and cosmetics. It says it is currently the only company authorized to use Willaertia amoeba industrially for biocontrol and cosmetic applications and that it has developed industrial-scale production compatible with commercial use.

The company noted that its active substance had already been approved in the United States in 2022. It also said product registration was obtained in the United States in 2025 before this French authorization in 2026. As with all crop-protection products, broader commercialization across Europe will still depend on approvals from national authorities in each market.

The French decision comes as vineyard managers across Europe continue looking for alternatives that can fit stricter environmental expectations without leaving growers exposed to heavy disease pressure during humid seasons. In regions where downy mildew and powdery mildew can sharply affect yields and fruit quality, any newly authorized tool is likely to be watched closely by growers as well as by wineries that depend on stable grape supply.