VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Willow
Biosciences Inc. ("Willow" or the "Company")
(TSX: WLLW) (OTCQB: CANSF) has released its financial and
operating results for the three and nine months ended
September 30, 2021, reporting
significant advancement in its operations and strong liquidity.
"We continued to make significant strides forward in the
third quarter and are well positioned to be the global leader in
biosynthetically produced cannabinoids," said Trevor Peters, Willow's President and Chief
Executive Officer. "From our vantage point, we can see the larger
players in the consumer-packaged goods ecosystem becoming
increasingly more bullish on the health and wellness aspects of the
cannabis industry. It has been our view all along that these
entities need an ultra-pure, sustainably sourced ingredient supply
to meet their long-term demands, and Willow's technology platform
enables their entrance into this space."
Highlights for the Quarter
- On July 20, 2021, Willow
announced that it had added cannabinol ("CBN") to its
development program. Early research indicates that CBN may be
effective as a sleep aid or sedative, in addition to other
potential health benefits.
- On July 20, 2021, the Company
announced the formation of a senior level Environmental, Social,
and Governance ("ESG") committee to oversee sustainability
integration efforts and to provide a direct line from operations to
the board of directors on all ESG matters. ESG priorities for
Willow in 2021 and 2022 include ESG strategy development, data
management on identified safety, environmental, and social KPIs,
target-setting, and internal and external stakeholder
engagement.
- On September 21, 2021, Willow
announced that it had 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,
since its first commercial scale run in March of 2021.
- On September 21, 2021, Willow
announced that it had developed a process for production of
ultrapure cannabigerolic acid ("CBGA"). Samples are
available for customer assessment and product development.
- During the quarter, Willow added fermentation capacity to its
lab in Burnaby, British Columbia,
and subsequent to the quarter, the Company's wholly owned
subsidiary, Willow Analytics, received a cannabis research license
from Health Canada to operate in this expanded portion of its
lab.
- Willow ended the quarter with strong liquidity, including
approximately $35.7 million of cash
on hand as at September 30,
2021.
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. 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.
As stated previously, Willow has also engaged a regulatory
consulting group to attain an Independent Generally Recognized as
Safe ("GRAS") conclusion for Willow CBG that is required for
use in food and beverage applications and continues this process
which will be completed in 2022.
During the third quarter of 2021, the Company added resources
and expertise to manage commercial production and further expand
its R&D capabilities to grow its product portfolio. Willow has
expanded its Burnaby, British
Columbia and Mountain View,
California teams to include manufacturing, quality and
regulatory groups, along with additional R&D scientists
focusing on strain optimization and process development. Willow
also added fermentation capacity to its lab in Burnaby, British Columbia, and subsequent to
the quarter, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Willow
Analytics, received a cannabis research license from Health Canada
to operate in this expanded portion of its lab.
With Willow's lead proprietary yeast strain now producing
biosynthetic CBG at commercial scale, and agreements in place to
generate product revenue, Willow's R&D teams are now focused on
development of cannabidiol ("CBD") and tetrahydrocannabinol
("THC") programs for commercial manufacture. In addition to
Willow's commercial development programs for CBG, CBD and THC,
Willow's R&D team continues to develop biosynthetic processes
for cannabidivarin ("CBDV"), cannabigerovarin
("CBGV"), and tetrahydrocannabivarin ("THCV"), and
has added an additional development project for production of CBN
from its biosynthetically derived CBD or THC. Early research
indicates that CBN may be effective as a sleep aid or sedative, in
addition to other potential health benefits. The Center of Disease
Control's Sleep and Sleep Disorder Program states that one in three
adults in the United States do not
get enough sleep, a crucial component for good health, and CBN is
increasingly being incorporated into consumer products designed to
improve sleep quality.
Financial Update
Willow ended the quarter in a strong financial position, with
approximately $35.7 million in cash
on hand.
The Company's financial results are summarized as follows:
|
As at September 30
|
|
2021
|
2020
|
Balance sheet
($000's):
|
|
|
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
35,729
|
9,092
|
Total
assets
|
41,043
|
16,049
|
Shareholder's
equity
|
34,347
|
3,627
|
Weighted average
shares outstanding:
|
|
|
Basic
(000's)
|
123,545
|
78,892
|
Diluted
(000's)
|
136,597
|
78,892
|
Outlook
Willow completed its first commercial scale fermentation run of
its first cannabinoid, CBG, in Q1 2021 and signed up its first
multi year commercial agreement with Cellular Goods in Q2 2021.
This agreement was a significant turning point in the lifecycle of
the Company as it demonstrates that Willow has the full technical
and business development capabilities to meet customer demands.
During the remainder of 2021, Willow plans to continue to optimize
its commercial process for CBG, supply product to customers, seed
commercial samples to new potential customers, and build out a
robust order book for 2022, which the Company expects to be its
first full year of commercial production and sales. CBG is a rare
cannabinoid and Willow is at the forefront of developing that
market.
The Company has two distinct objectives at this time. The first
is to continue to work with larger groups to lock up supply
agreements for its biosynthetically produced CBG. The second is to
continue to advance the development of its portfolio of other
cannabinoids to bring them forward to commercialization. While the
timing of the first is harder to predict, the Company is currently
engaged in very promising discussions with interested third parties
and believes that its core technology will be significant in
helping to enable the more traditional consumer-packaged goods
entities enter the cannabinoid space.
With $35.7 million of cash on the
Company's balance sheet as at September 30,
2021, favourable regulatory regime changes being discussed
in the United States, a first
commercial production run completed and first commercial agreement
signed, the Company is in a position of strength to execute on its
business plan. While the market for biosynthetically produced
cannabinoids is new, Willow is at the forefront of this industry
and will continue to demonstrate itself as a market leader.
A full description of Willow's third quarter 2020 results can be
found in Willow's unaudited condensed consolidated interim
financial statements and related management's discussion and
analysis which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
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.
For further information, please visit our website at
www.willowbio.com or contact:
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: Willow's milestone projections, including
the timing of CBG production and revenue generation and commercial
manufacturing of CBD and THC; the progress of Willow's commercial
development programs for CBD, THC, CBDV, CBGV, THCV and CBN; the
results of negotiations with strategic partners and potential
customers, including product orders resulting therefrom; the
receipt of a GRAS conclusion in respect of Willow's CBG; the
therapeutic benefits of CBN; global market forecasts for
biosynthetically derived cannabinoids and Willow's ability to
capture market share; Willow's ESG efforts and objectives; 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 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 AIF and the MD&A 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.
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SOURCE Willow Biosciences Inc.