Back to spin-outs

NanoGuard Crop Solutions

Entered program in 2024

Safeguarding global agriculture with targeted insect pest control

Back to spin-outs
Eva Maria Rebrova
Agriculture
Sustainable/Responsible Pest Control
Insect Pests

Insects incur enormous social, health and economic costs worldwide, with crop losses accounting for 25% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product annually. Insect pest control is thus key for food production. However, conventional chemical insecticides are failing as they have devastating impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and human health. Growing regulatory pressure further demands that new insecticides should be safe to both humans and the environment creating a tremendous pressure for innovative, safe, and sustainable insect pest control solutions. NanoGuard aims to transform this field by introducing a pioneering new platform technology capable of delivering a new generation of selective and ‘eco-friendly’ insect control agents to combat global agricultural losses. By combining AI-guided protein design with insect genetics and plant protection applications, we strive to develop and market novel solution to combat agricultural losses and thus help solve global food security.

The Spin-outs Denmark program provides us with the tools and resources to transition our early-stage spin-out and research from academia to industry, or even combine both. We are currently refining the proof of concept for our technology, focusing on insect models and near-field setups. Additionally, we are actively networking within the Danish start-up ecosystem to grow our business and enhance our market readiness.

Eva Maria Rebrova

Eva Maria Rebrova is a medical structural biologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen. Eva is specialized in molecular biology, biophysics, and infectious disease research. With expertise in advanced protein structure analysis, she has made significant contributions to understanding Mycobacterium tuberculosis and drug development. Eva is lead inventor in developing the early proof of concept for the nano-delivery system, which is the current foundation for the pending spin-out NanoGuard Crop Solutions.

Eva Maria Rebrova is working closely with together with Kenneth Veland Halberg, a leading expert in insect physiology. He heads a research group that has made significant breakthroughs in understanding how hormonal signals regulate organ function, enabling insects to adapt to environmental stress. His team is currently focused on applying these insights to develop innovative and eco-friendly pest control solutions.

As a team they have advanced this nano-scale delivery method, which brings them significantly closer to achieving precise, efficient delivery of drugs, marking a breakthrough in agricultural and biomedical applications

This project is supported by Spin-outs Denmark, a unique program that invests in researchers who create more impact by starting research-based companies.