AgroSpheres and FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) announced that two RNA-based biomolecule candidates from AgroSpheres' pipeline are entering global field trial development across the United States, Brazil and Asia, according to a press release from the companies.

The candidates, developed under a collaboration first announced in 2024, target lepidopteran pests such as the fall armyworm and diamondback moth. The press release states that these pest species collectively cause nearly $14 billion in global crop losses and control costs annually.

The field trials follow testing across laboratory, greenhouse and small-scale field-plot environments, where the biomolecules were benchmarked against industry-standard chemistries before advancing to full-scale trials.

"Moving these candidates into the field is an important moment for this partnership," said Payam Pourtaheri, co-founder and CEO of AgroSpheres. "It's where the science we've rigorously validated against the industry standard in the lab meets the complexity of real growing conditions, across very different climates and crop systems."

Dr. Seva Rostovtsev, executive vice president and chief technology officer at FMC Corporation, said: "Field trials are where promising technologies begin to demonstrate their real-world potential across different crops, climates and pest pressures. We're encouraged by the progress to date."

The biomolecules are manufactured through fermentation and delivered using AgroSpheres' AgriCell platform, which the company says encapsulates the active ingredient to protect it from UV exposure, heat and moisture, and enables controlled release after application.