VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Willow Biosciences
Inc. ("Willow" or the "Company")
(TSX: WLLW) (OTCQX: CANSF), a leading biotechnology company
that manufactures ultra-pure, sustainably produced cannabinoids via
yeast-based biosynthesis, is pleased to provide the following
operational and corporate updates.
Commercial Scale Operational Update
In March 2021, Willow completed
its first commercial scale fermentation run of cannabigerol
("CBG") with its manufacturing partner at their European
facilities. The product from this first run was primarily used for
customer samples and to provide material to Cellular Goods PLC
("Cellular Goods") as a part of their June 2021 supply agreement. The first shipment of
CBG was delivered to Cellular Goods in July
2021. Since this initial production run, Willow has
increased its production titer by >400% and has carried out
additional fermentation runs yielding tens of kilograms of
ultra-pure CBG at >10,000 L fermentation scale. The Company
continues to make significant titer improvements to its strain,
with further production runs planned through the end of the
year.
CBGA Production Update
Since launching CBG, Willow has received inquiries for its
acidic precursor, cannabigerolic acid ("CBGA"), which is not
readily available through extraction. Willow is pleased to announce
that it has developed a process for production of ultrapure
cannabigerolic acid and samples are now available for customer
assessment and product development. CBGA is an exciting, rare
cannabinoid with distinctive properties and has been shown to act
as an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and
neuroprotectant in research studies. The unique benefit of Willow
biosynthetic production process in yeast is that it can efficiently
produce the acidic and neutral forms of cannabinoids in high
purity.
Corporate Update
A claim alleging infringement of Canadian Patent No. 2,770,774
was served on the Company. Willow is confident the claim is
entirely without merit and intends to vigorously defend it.
The patent relates to the aromatic prenyl transferase CsPT1 from
cannabis. Willow does not utilize CsPT1 in any of its development
programs or commercialized processes. Willow has applied its
in-house cannabis genomic databases and enzyme engineering
technologies to the discovery and development of novel, proprietary
genes for biosynthetic production of cannabinoids in yeast.
Willow has developed distinctly different, proprietary genes for
the steps within the primary cannabinoid pathway and filed multiple
patent applications relating to key genes within its developed
cannabinoid pathway.
Willow has developed a proprietary cannabinoid biosynthetic
pathway for producing ultra-pure cannabinoids that does not involve
CsPT1.
About Willow Biosciences Inc.
Willow is a leading biotechnology company that develops and
produces high-purity, plant derived ingredients for the consumer
care, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical markets. Willow's
biotechnology platform allows creation of a consistent, scalable
and sustainable product that benefits both B2B and B2C customers.
Willow's R&D team has a proven track record of developing and
commercializing bio-based manufacturing processes and products for
both the consumer and pharmaceutical industries.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may include forward-looking statements
including opinions, assumptions, estimates and the Company's
assessment of future plans and operations, and, more particularly,
statements concerning: the progress of Willow's commercial
development programs for CBG and CBGA; the therapeutic benefits of
CBGA; predictions about the outcome of litigation in which
Willow is involved; and the business plan of the Company,
generally, including cannabinoid research and production. When used
in this news release, the words "will," "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "expect," "intent," "may," "project," "should," and
similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that
identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements
are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by
the Company which include, but are not limited to: the success of
Willow's strategic partnerships, including the development of
future strategic partnerships; the financial strength of the
Company; the ability of the Company to fund its business plan using
cash on hand and existing resources; the market for Willow's
products; the ability of the Company to obtain and retain
applicable licences; the ability of the Company to obtain suitable
manufacturing partners and other strategic relationships; and the
successful implementation of Willow's commercialization and
production strategy, generally. Forward-looking statements are
subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although
the Company believes that the expectations represented by such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no
assurance that such expectations will be realized. Any number of
important factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements including, but not
limited to, risks common in all litigation, including that, because
of the inherent uncertainty of litigation, the outcome may be
unfavorable even if Willow's defense is meritorious, or that
material legal fees and expenses may be incurred even if Willow is
ultimately successful in its defense; risks associated with: the
cannabinoid industry in general; the success of the Company's
research and development strategies; infringement on intellectual
property; failure to benefit from partnerships or successfully
integrate acquisitions; actions and initiatives of federal and
provincial governments and changes to government policies and the
execution and impact of these actions, initiatives and policies;
import/export and research restrictions for cannabinoid-based
operations; the size of the medical-use and adult-use cannabinoid
market; competition from other industry participants; adverse U.S.,
Canadian and global economic conditions; adverse global events and
public-health crises, including the current COVID-19 outbreak;
failure to comply with certain regulations; departure of key
management personnel or inability to attract and retain talent; and
other factors more fully described from time to time in the reports
and filings made by the Company with securities regulatory
authorities. Please refer to the Company's most recent annual
information form and management's discussion and analysis for
additional risk factors relating to Willow, which can be accessed
either on Willow's website at www.willowbio.com or under the
Company's profile on www.sedar.com.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release
are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not undertake
any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included
forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly
qualified by this cautionary statement.
Abbreviations
B2B business
to business
B2C business
to consumer
R&D
research and development
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SOURCE Willow Biosciences Inc.