Agrochemical industry development, trends in R&D and the impact of regulation

Over the last 20 years the share of the crop protection market attributable to the leading markets (North America, EU-15 and Japan) that are the major focus of new active ingredient research and development (R&D) has declined. Greater growth has been recorded in developing markets, questioning the focus of current R&D strategy. R&D budgets within the major companies have seen a shift toward genetically modified (GM) trait development away from agrochemicals, such that the rate of new active ingredients entering development and subsequently being introduced has declined. As a result, the industry has become more reliant on older, off-patent chemistry, although the availability of older products has been affected by re-registration requirements, particularly in the EU. Current criteria often preclude the registration of broad-spectrum agrochemicals, resulting in many new active ingredients being single site active, which is perceived to increase the potential for resistance development, particularly for herbicides, although this is not always the case. © 2019 The Author. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.