Office of the Vice President for Research

Halo is excited to share a unique partnering request. BASF and Bayer, aligned with the mission of Plantum, a consortium of companies active in plant breeding, seed production, and propagation, have joined forces to explore innovative approaches to seed health testing.

BASF: Seed health tests for pathogen viability:

• They are seeking a seed health test method, whether destructive or non-destructive, that distinguishes between the presence of viable and non-viable pathogens in or on the seed. The primary focus is on testing for tobamoviruses in solanaceous crops, such as tomato, pepper, and eggplant. Learn more HERE.

Explore all active requests, and please share them with researchers/innovators in your networks! A quick list of opportunities with a deadline of June 30^th is provided below. To view these and all opportunities on this active request page, you must make a free account.

• Advancing treatments for respiratory health: The sponsor is seeking innovative OTC solutions that improve symptom relief and user experience for respiratory conditions such as nasal congestion, sinusitis, allergies, asthma, and COPD.
• Value-generating technologies for roofing systems: The sponsor is seeking innovative, revenue-generating solutions that can be deployed on commercial rooftops constructed with single-ply membrane materials such as EPDM, TPO, or PVC.
• Breakthrough approaches in neuropathic pain relief: The sponsor is seeking breakthrough topical or systemic OTC solutions for neuropathic pain relief, including novel delivery systems, nerve stimulation devices, and bioactive formulations.
• Conversion of recycled polyethylene into wax: The sponsor is seeking innovative catalytic or solvent-assisted processes to convert HDPE post-consumer resin into waxes suitable for adhesives, coatings, or cosmetics.
• In-line viscosity monitoring for real-time molecular weight assessment: The sponsor is seeking in-line solutions to monitor polymer molecular weight during injection molding, using real-time viscosity measurements within a ~1.5-second injection window.
• Potentiators to enhance fungicide performance: The sponsor is seeking potentiators that enhance fungicide efficacy by improving bioavailability, offering new modes of action, or overcoming resistance, without showing standalone antifungal activity.
• Improving delivery and bioavailability of micronutrients in supplements: Haleon is seeking novel delivery technologies that improve absorption, stability, release, or bioavailability of key micronutrients in oral supplements.
• Salt recovery and contaminant removal from waste streams: Tata Steel is seeking solutions to recover valuable salts, remove hazardous contaminants, and reduce energy use in Zero Effluent Discharge (ZED) operations to improve sustainability and lower waste disposal costs.
• Additive manufacturing for nutritional supplements: The sponsor is seeking additive manufacturing technologies to enable personalized production of vitamins, minerals, and supplements, with a focus on customizable dosing, format compatibility, and ingredient stability.
• Mastitis challenge model in non-lactating dairy animals: The sponsor is seeking a reproducible mastitis challenge model for non-lactating dairy cows or heifers, with options for co-development or adaptation to small ruminants.