Willow Biosciences (TSX: WLLW) this morning had a major announcement, with the company announcing that it has advanced its work on biosynthesizing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The company has successfully advanced the proprietary yeast strain required for biosynthetic production of THC, and plans to launch the product into the Canadian market.
The company has successfully developed the yeast strain and process for the production of THC to enable the company to provide guidance of a pilot scale run occurring later this year. For this, the company has reportedly already identified a development partner for isolation, purification, and scale up for its pilot production run, while the firm is in talks with several manufacturing companies to serve the adult-use cannabis market.
As with its cannabigerol, or CBG, product, the company believes that there is significant demand from consumer product manufacturers for the production of a consistent, high-purity, odorless, flavourless THC ingredient for the cannabis 2.0 market. Specifically, Willow will look to provide its THC product to producers of vapes, edibles, beverages, concentrates and topicals within the cannabis sector.
In terms of markets, the company has indicated that it will first launch its THC product the Canadian market where THC is legalized, while following the developments in the US and being ready to act for when a legalization event occurs.
“From conversations with prospective customers in Canada, we believe that there is significant demand for consistent, high-purity THC. The flavourless, odorless attributes of our finished product make it suitable as a core ingredient for the cannabis 2.0 market in Canada. There is also strong demand for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce THC. Our manufacturing process is 50 to 500 times more efficient than indoor cultivation and is the next evolution of sustainable cannabinoid manufacturing.”
Trevor Peters, CEO of Willow Biosciences
A specific time frame for the initial pilot production of THC via biosynthesis was not provided.
Willow Biosciences last traded at $1.23 on the TSX.
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