Complements Company's significant expertise in
existing strain engineering and precision
fermentation
Offers commercial partners more rapid product
innovation at significantly reduced cost by removing multiple
chemical steps in producing oxygenated and hydroxylated functional
ingredients
Creates additional business development
opportunities and enables faster path to nearer-term revenue for
Willow relative to legacy strain engineering applications
MOUNTAIN
VIEW, Calif., April 12,
2023 /CNW/ - Willow Biosciences
Inc. ("Willow" or the "Company")
(TSX: WLLW) (OTCQB: CANSF), a leading biotechnology company
focused on revolutionizing industrial manufacturing of pure,
consistent and sustainable functional ingredients today announced
the launch of BioOxi™, a bio-oxidation platform technology that is
complementary to the Company's existing strain engineering and
precision fermentation FutureGrown™ biotechnology platform. Through
the Company's legacy expertise, Willow is now able to offer
commercial partners both cost-effective production of ingredients
through biosynthesis, and now through BioOxi, bioconversion-enabled
chemical manufacturing of ingredients from defined intermediates
with the benefit of removing multiple chemical steps and
significantly reducing cost and resources.
"The launch of BioOxi is an exciting development in the history
of Willow and represents the next strategic step to significantly
diversify our portfolio and market opportunities with a keen focus
on nearer term revenue generation," said, Dr. Chris Savile, Willow's President and CEO. "We
see this new platform as posing a powerful, clean and
cost-effective solution to our prospective partners' chemical
manufacturing challenges that is highly complementary to our
existing strain engineering and precision fermentation business.
Based on our prior success in utilizing BioOxi to support our
partners we believe it will lead to additional commercial
agreements going forward."
Company's Prior Proven Success and
Customer Demand is the Driving Force Behind Launch of
BioOxi
Willow successfully used its BioOxi platform in development
programs for partners such as Kalsec® Inc. for a previously
announced November 2022 Master
Services Agreement to develop and commercialize a precision
fermentation production process for a high volume, natural food
opportunity and, more recently, Willow further leveraged the
successful application of BioOxi for engagements with Sandhill One,
LLC to optimize a proprietary enzyme for a targeted product for the
manufacturing of the large volume active pharmaceutical ingredient,
ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).
Broadens Willow's Addressable
Market Opportunity and Creates Nearer-Term Revenue
Options
By leveraging BioOxi, commercial partners can revolutionize
manufacturing of oxygenated and hydroxylated functional ingredients
such as steroids, polyphenols, oxyterpenes and certain other
targeted ingredients produced from such methods.
The launch of BioOxi broadens Willow's addressable total market
opportunity and provides nearer-term revenue generation for
BioOxi-related projects. Applications in this area take
significantly less time to generate revenue as strain engineering
applications and, in the Company's belief, produce more longer-term
and sometimes larger revenue streams. Both types of offerings can
result in licensing or royalty revenues for Willow.
Willow will pursue BioOxi programs through both internal and
external investment, through astutely planned and strategically
aligned programs that the Company anticipates will expand its
product portfolio and partnerships toward improved company
valuation.
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.
FutureGrown™ and BioOxi™ are registered trademarks
of Willow Biosciences Inc. All other trademarks
referenced in this news release are trademarks of their respective
holders.
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 BioOxi platform, including future
internal and external programs utilizing the platform and the
anticipated benefits of the platform, including reducing costs and
resources and accelerating timelines; nearer term revenue
generation opportunities; ability to enter into additional business
development arrangements and commercial agreements; expansion of
Willow's addressable market opportunity; 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, strain engineering, 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, corporate valuation, financial position, cash
balances, investment, costs 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.