Adama (000553.SZ) and BASF Agricultural Solutions Business Group join forces to develop Gilboa® breakthrough sterilization technology

^{The Zhitong Finance App learned that on December 18, 2025 - Adama Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”, 000553.SZ) and BASF announced that they have reached a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly develop and commercialize Gilboa® (flumetylsulforim, fluorosulforim), an active bactericidal ingredient proprietary to Adama.} The partnership will accelerate the launch of innovative disease management solutions, help farmers across Europe cope with resistance problems and ensure normal crop production.

According to the agreement, in addition to Adama's own Gilboa series products, BASF will develop and market new formulation products based on Adama's Gilboa active ingredients. The partnership combines Adama's innovation and blending expertise with BASF's strong development capabilities and marketing channels to accelerate farmers' access to next-generation solutions. Both parties will independently determine their respective product concepts, pricing, sales and marketing strategies.

The European market is facing increasing regulatory pressure, and existing active ingredients are gradually being phased out. Farmers therefore urgently need new, efficient and reliable tools to ensure the health and yield of crops. Gilboa provides a new mechanism of action for grain sterilization, and in the first half of this year, the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) confirmed its classification as FRAC Group 32 (nucleic acid metabolism category). Gilboa has diverse development potential and is expected to develop a variety of broad-spectrum and long-term disease control solutions to provide both yield and quality protection for growers.

Florian Wagner, head of product line and innovation at Adama and executive vice president, said, “There is no doubt that farmers need reliable and fearless resistant broad-spectrum disease control solutions. Gilboa will be a powerful plant protection tool in the hands of European grain growers. Adama chose to partner with BASF because both parties are equally committed to innovation and quality, and also focus on sustainable development. “The synergy of ideas has enabled us to work together to rapidly deliver this important innovation to growers across Europe.”

Marko Grozdanovic, senior vice president of global strategic marketing at BASF's Agricultural Solutions Business Unit, said, “Over the past ten years, BASF and Adama have successfully collaborated on a number of projects. Today, we are combining BASF's rich biocides product reserves and market advantages with Adama's innovative active ingredients and product technology — the two sides combine their respective strengths to help farmers obtain cutting-edge solutions faster.”

The two companies plan to first launch wheat microbicides developed based on Gilboa to the UK market in 2027 and promote them to other European countries in 2029. The exact process will depend on the approval of the product registration certificate.