Australian climate technology company Rumin8 has passed an important milestone in bringing its methane-reducing feed additives to the market, with the provisional registration by the New Zealand Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) of its first methane-reducing feed additive.
Rumin8 is developing solid feed- and water-delivered formulations that leverage an organic active compound called tribromomethane (TBM), which has been shown to be the most effective of all actives tested for methane reductions in livestock, the company said.
This approval allows for efficacy and safety studies to be conducted in commercial animals to generate the data for final approval in New Zealand. The aim is to accelerate Rumin8’s products into the hands of producers with a view to reduce livestock methane emissions and improve productivity.
Rumin8’s innovative technology uses a highly scalable, repeatable and cost-effective pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing process to synthesize and stabilize the anti-methanogenic compound TBM, which was identified in studies with red seaweed.
“This provisional registration is an important first step in the New Zealand registration pathway, and ultimately toward supporting farmers with their methane reduction efforts,” said Rumin8 CEO David Messina.
The New Zealand provisional registration is one of multiple registration processes that are progressing in parallel, with engagement activities with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply regulatory bodies ramping up off the back recent trial results.
Messina said New Zealand has always been a key target market and Rumin8 has been working with commercial and research partners in New Zealand to test the safety and efficacy of its technology since late 2022.
“New Zealand farmers are some of the most innovative farmers globally, and the world continues to learn a lot from them,” he said. “They are already leaders when it comes to producing lower-carbon meat and milk, so we’re excited at the prospect of being able to offer a new technology to support their efforts.”
Recent methane reduction and productivity improvement results were released at the Breakthrough Energy 2024 Summit in London. The Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy is a cornerstone investor in Rumin8, and relentless in its quest to use pharmaceutical technology to create affordable feed and water supplements that reduce methane emissions from livestock.
