Vestaron Reports No Cross-Resistance of its SPEAR Bioinsecticide with Spinosad

Posted by Paul Rusnak|November 30, 2018

Crop protection company Vestaron Corp. has announced that despite its SPEAR peptide targeting the same receptor class as does Spinosad – the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, insects with resistance to Spinosad do not have cross resistance to SPEAR.

“The alternate sites and greater surface areas involved in protein-protein binding make it unlikely that any of Vestaron’s peptides would have cross-resistance with existing small molecule insecticides,” stated Bob Kennedy, Vestaron’s Chief Science Officer, in a prepared news release. “Nevertheless, this is a useful confirmation of this principle as it relates to Vestaron’s novel SPEAR bioinsecticide and the existing small molecule insecticide, Spinosad. SPEAR recently received a novel IRAC mode of action code, confirming that it targets nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in a different way from any existing class of insecticides.”

Vestaron is developing the SPEAR peptide into a family of insecticidal products. The first was SPEAR-T, which was launched in July of 2018, and targets all four major greenhouse pests – thrips, whiteflies, aphids, and mites.

The second, SPEAR-Lep, targets lepidopteran pests for fruits, vegetables, nuts and other high-value field crops. SPEAR-Lep received EPA approval in September 2018 and has now been approved in more than 20 states.

Additional field products targeting other classes of insect will follow, according to the company.