Cardia subsidiary Bioglobal buys blowfly IP

Cardia Technologies subsidiary Bioglobal has bought intellectual property from Queensland's Department of Primary Industries relating to blowfly attract and kill technology.

Bioglobal previously held exclusive worldwide marketing rights to the Lucilure and LuciTrap technology, but paid a royalty of 7.5 per cent on all sales, according to Cardia chairman Pat Volpe.

"By buying the IP, there is no royalty on sales. It makes our bottom line much more profitable," he said.

The acquisition of the IP and associated brand names cost Bioglobal $44,000. Registration of the products with the National Registration Authority will also be passed to Bioglobal.

LuciTrap and Lucilure work together to prevent flystrike in sheep, using the odour emitting lures to attract blowflies to the trap. One trap is sufficient for approximately 1 km sq and about 100 sheep, and lasts for about three months, said Volpe.

He said that, at present, the major market for the product is in Victoria.

The technology also has applications for controlling blowflies in landfills and Bioglobal is currently assessing this market.

The company is also in the process of finalising an agreement with the South African Wool Board for the product, said Volpe

Purchase of the technology will also assist Bioglobal in expanding its use to other flies, including new world and old world screw-worm flies, which are pests in Central and South America, Asia and South Africa.

The company already provides new-world screw-worm fly lures to the Australian Quarantine Service for monitoring Northern Australia for infestation, and is planning to trial the technology on a larger scale.

According to Volpe, negotiations are underway with global chemical companies to expand the market for the technology.

"Our strategy is to link in with an agricultural fine chemical company for distribution and marketing," he said.

Volpe said that the target markets for the technology would be the USA, China, South Africa and New Zealand.

Cardia holds a 42 per cent equity stake in Bioglobal.