Resurrect Bio Partners With Bejo to Develop Downy Mildew Resistance in Spinach

Key Takeaways

• Resurrect Bio, a UK biotechnology company developing disease-resistance traits for crops, has announced a joint development agreement with vegetable breeding company Bejo to explore new approaches to disease resistance in spinach.
• The collaboration focuses on resistance to spinach downy mildew, widely regarded as one of the most destructive diseases affecting spinach production worldwide.
• Under the agreement, Resurrect Bio will apply its targeted trait discovery approach to identify disease-resistance mechanisms that could support more resilient spinach varieties, combined with Bejo's vegetable breeding expertise.
• Bejo and Resurrect Bio have collaborated informally for several years, with the relationship now formalized through this joint development agreement.
• The partnership follows Resurrect Bio's Series A funding round completed in May 2026, which raised a total of $10.3 million.

Resurrect Bio and Bejo Target Spinach Downy Mildew Resistance

Resurrect Bio, a UK biotechnology company developing disease-resistance traits for crops, has entered a joint development agreement with Bejo, a leading vegetable breeding company, to explore new approaches to disease resistance in spinach. The collaboration is centered on resistance to spinach downy mildew, widely recognized as one of the most destructive diseases affecting spinach production globally.

The announcement comes as seed companies increasingly seek faster, more targeted ways to respond to evolving disease pressures while supporting resilient production systems and reducing reliance on chemical inputs. Spinach, grown year-round and valued for its nutritional profile, is a fast-growing leafy crop produced across multiple growing cycles each year — conditions under which disease resistance in existing varieties can break down quickly.

How the Joint Development Agreement Works

Bejo and Resurrect Bio began working together informally several years ago, when Resurrect Bio was in the early stages of exploring its technology's potential. Since then, Resurrect Bio has continued developing and validating its approach, leading to the formalization of the relationship through this joint development agreement.

Under the agreement, Resurrect Bio will apply its targeted trait discovery approach to identify disease-resistance mechanisms that could support the development of more resilient spinach varieties. The company's approach works by identifying where plant immune systems have been defeated by pathogens, aiming to uncover resistance mechanisms that restore or improve immune function faster than conventional breeding methods. The resulting disease-resistance traits are designed to be taken forward by seed companies through their own breeding and innovation pipelines. The project combines Bejo's vegetable breeding expertise with Resurrect Bio's work in restoring and strengthening crop immunity.

What Resurrect Bio and Bejo Say About the Collaboration

“Spinach is a strong candidate for this kind of work because it is fast-growing, widely consumed and affected by a major global pathogen in downy mildew. This collaboration with Bejo is an opportunity to apply our disease-resistance trait discovery approach to a crop that matters to growers, breeders and consumers around the world. By combining Resurrect Bio's understanding of plant-pathogen interactions with Bejo's deep crop breeding expertise, we can explore new routes to spinach disease resistance that are grounded in the biology of how the pathogen interacts with the crop,” said Dr Cian Duggan, CEO and Co-Founder of Resurrect Bio.

“This collaboration reflects Bejo's commitment to innovation in vegetable breeding and to developing high-quality spinach varieties with strong and durable disease resistance. Our aim is to guarantee greater stability in spinach production and extend the lifetime of crop varieties and their resistance, helping to ensure a reliable supply of a vegetable consumed worldwide,” said Dr Laurens Kroon, Head of Research at Bejo.

Part of Resurrect Bio's Broader Commercial Growth

For Resurrect Bio, the agreement marks another step in its commercial development, following the completion of its Series A funding round in May 2026, which raised a total of $10.3 million. The partnership demonstrates how the company's platform can be applied across different crops and disease species, supporting its broader ambition to work with leading seed companies to develop stronger, more durable crop disease resistance.