Sustainable supply of raw material important to Dicot

By entering into this partnership with BIA, Dicot will be supported in mapping the distribution of the trees growing in South Africa, which are used for the raw material of Dicot's drug candidate Libiguin®. The partnership also provides an opportunity to assess moving the process of extracting the raw material to South Africa in order to get closer to the raw material source. This together facilitates the conservation of biodiversity, ensures a sustainable supply and creates new jobs in South Africa in alignment with the goals in Agenda 2030. The project will run until mid-2022.

"We look forward to participate in this project with BIA as this is fully in line with our long-term efforts to secure the raw material supply for our drug candidate. We will conduct a research assessment of the raw material source in South Africa with GIZ and Parceval to ensure a sustainable supply. We also want to streamline our production and thus work locally with various possibilities for moving the extraction of the raw material to South Africa, which additionally will lead to new jobs.", says Göran Beijer, CEO of Dicot AB.

"BioInnovation Africa is looking forward to cooperating with Dicot and its South African partner Parceval in this innovative project. Jointly with Dicot, we will enable rural communities to play a crucial role in establishing a promising value chain right from the beginning. Through close collaboration with the producers on the ground, we will foster their involvement in this new, hitherto barely used resource and ensure fair benefit sharing. The inclusion of the local communities, the sharing of benefits and the sustainable use of the indigenous plants are key factors for the valorization and the conservation of the rich biodiversity of South Africa." Friedrich zur Heide, project coordinator, BioInnovation Africa, GIZ