Valent BioSciences, MGK, and Valent North America Become Sumitomo Biorational Company, a Global Center of Excellence for Biorational Innovation
24 October 2025, Libertyville: Valent BioSciences LLC, MGK, and Valent North America LLC announced today they will come together under a new unified organization named Sumitomo Biorational Company LLC (SBC), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Company Ltd (SCC) in April 2026. Based in Libertyville, Illinois, the integrated organization will serve as SCC’s Global Center of Excellence for Biorational Innovation, designed to accelerate the company’s industry-leading capabilities in providing integrated, sustainable biorational solutions derived from natural sources such as microbials and botanicals to customers around the globe.
Valent U.S.A. LLC will continue to operate separately, maintaining its focus on regional sales and marketing across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The new company will be led by Dr. Shinsuke (Shin) Shojima, who has been appointed President and CEO. With over 35 years of experience in a variety of senior executive roles across the Sumitomo Chemical Group, Mr. Shojima will manage the global agricultural and environmental health practices for biorational technologies. The Center of Excellence will focus on best practices and talent development, while collaboratively developing a range of products that contribute to regenerative agriculture and sustainable environmental health.
“Valent BioSciences has a long and successful history of pioneering biorational technologies,” said Salman Mir, President and CEO of Valent BioSciences. “With SBC, we build on that foundation by creating a Global Center of Excellence that accelerates the next wave of sustainable innovation for customers worldwide.”
“MGK has successfully developed and commercialized botanical technologies for more than 120 years,” said Steve Gullickson, President and CEO of MGK. “SBC strengthens our ability to bring innovative botanical solutions to market more quickly, meeting the critical needs of our customers and communities.”
“Valent North America is committed to providing consistent, effective services that enable our businesses to focus on what matters most – delivering innovative sustainable solutions to meet our customer’s needs,” said Andy Lee, President and CEO of Valent North America. “By combining our collective strengths through SBC, we are creating a Global Center of Excellence that delivers integrated solutions to drive productivity and sustainability for our customers.”
By consolidating its expertise and resources into SBC, Sumitomo Chemical can streamline operations and bring new innovations to market faster. The formation of SBC will strengthen the company’s ability to serve a wide range of markets, including agriculture, public health, forest health, professional pest control, and animal health.
This strategic integration enables SBC to:
- Expand research, development, and supply chain capabilities.
- Streamline the customer experience for our channel partners.
- Accelerate innovation through collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- Enhance global leadership and brand presence in regenerative solutions.
- Develop talent more strategically and create new career opportunities.
For regional sales and marketing, the following business units will continue serving customers:
- The Public Health and Forest Health business unit for Valent BioSciences customers will continue doing business under the same representing brand for regional sales and marketing mainly in North America and Africa.
- The Biostimulants Business Unit and the Specialty Business Unit at the Valent BioSciences’ subsidiary Mycorrhizal Applications will be doing business as SBC for regional sales and marketing in the U.S.
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