KALAMAZOO, Mich. and CALGARY, AB and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 8, 2022
/PRNewswire/ - Willow Biosciences Inc. ("Willow")
(TSX: WLLW) (OTCQB: CANSF), a leading biotechnology company
focused on revolutionizing industrial manufacturing of pure,
consistent and sustainable functional ingredients and Kalsec® Inc.
("Kalsec"), a leading global producer of natural
taste and sensory, food protection, colors and advanced hops
ingredients for the food and beverage industry, announce entry into
a Master Services Agreement (the "MSA") to develop and
commercialize a precision fermentation production process for a
high volume, natural food opportunity.
"We are pleased to add a new functional ingredient to our
portfolio, highlighting the demand for our fully integrated
FutureGrownTM technology platform," said Dr. Peter
Seufer-Wasserthal, Willow's President & CEO. "We welcome the
opportunity to advance Kalsec's range of natural, sustainable
products while also evolving Willow's business strategy."
The MSA consists of research & development and scale-up
phases, with Willow generating revenues from both research fees and
milestone payments. If successful, and the partnership proceeds to
commercialization, both parties anticipate entering into a license
agreement to share in the economics of the delivered product. This
strategic partnership is driving important innovation and will
support greater adoption of precision fermentation technology for
natural food and beverage products.
Willow's FutureGrownTM technology platform is a fully
integrated, proven solution for rapid strain engineering, process
development and scaled-up manufacturing that incorporates the
latest technologies available for precision fermentation. Willow's
R&D pipeline now includes four functional ingredients utilizing
its FutureGrownTM technology. Kalsec's projects with
Willow focus on S. cerevisiae (brewer's yeast), which is an
ideal host for expressing and engineering metabolic pathways to
numerous products of interest to the food and beverage market.
Kalsec's long history and expertise in creating natural products
and solutions for the food and beverage industry will enable the
benefits of precision fermentation to be realized. By working
closely with their customers, the development team at Kalsec has
identified multiple potential opportunities for collaboration and
innovation in this space.
"Kalsec continually researches new technologies to enhance
sustainability and efficiency in our production capabilities and
enable the maturation of markets for natural products," says Dr.
Roger Nahas, Executive Vice
President of Global R&D and Chief Innovation Officer. "We look
forward to this collaboration with Willow to introduce new,
precision-fermented products to benefit our customers and the
environment."
About Kalsec Inc.
Kalsec® Inc provides innovative taste and sensory, natural food
protection, natural colors and advanced hops solutions to the food
and beverage industries. We capture the best nature has to offer
and utilize over 60 years of experience and industry leading
innovation to make food and beverage products look better, taste
better and last longer. Family owned and headquartered in
Kalamazoo, Michigan since 1958,
Kalsec has regional offices, laboratories and sales teams in
North America, Europe, and Asia. As a certified B Corp, Kalsec makes
ethical and sustainable decisions that serve our customers,
employees, communities, and the environment. We are proud to be
using our business as a force for good. For more information, visit
www.kalsec.com.
About Willow Biosciences
Inc.
Willow develops and produces precision fermented functional
ingredients for the health and wellness, food and beverage and
personal care markets. Willow's FutureGrownTM
biotechnology platform allows large-scale production with
sustainability at its core. Willow's R&D team has a proven
track record of developing and commercializing bio-based
manufacturing processes and products to benefit our B2B partners
and their customers. For more information, visit
www.willowbio.com.
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 MSA, including the ability to
accommodate new programs and to expand capabilities; the continued
development of Willow's FutureGrown™ CBG; the demand and market
size potential of the synthetic ingredients industry; and the
business plan of the Company, generally, including becoming a
leader in precision fermentation, research and production of
functional ingredients. 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 biotechnology 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.
Any financial outlook and future-oriented financial information
contained in this document regarding prospective financial
performance, financial position, cash balances or revenue is based
on assumptions about future events, including economic conditions
and proposed courses of action based on management's assessment of
the relevant information that is currently available. Projected
operational information contains forward-looking information and is
based on a number of material assumptions and factors, as are set
out above. These projections may also be considered to contain
future-oriented financial information or a financial outlook. The
actual results of the Company's operations for any period will
likely vary from the amounts set forth in these projections and
such variations may be material. Actual results will vary from
projected results. Readers are cautioned that any such financial
outlook and future-oriented financial information contained herein
should not be used for purposes other than those for which it is
disclosed herein.
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.