The agreement with Kalsec anticipates
milestone payments for finalizing research and development work and
a royalty stream for Willow upon commercialization
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 5,
2024 /PRNewswire/ - Willow Biosciences
Inc. ("Willow") (TSX: WLLW) (OTCQB: CANSF), a
leading biotechnology company focused on revolutionizing industrial
manufacturing of pure, consistent, and sustainable ingredients,
announces signing a commercial license and royalty agreement with
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. The agreement
defines the financial terms for use of Willow's technology for
scaling and manufacturing of a natural ingredient that adds to
Kalsec's portfolio for use in savory food applications.
Through this commercial license and royalty agreement,
Willow expects to receive milestone payments for the first pilot
and industrial batches followed by tiered royalty payments on net
worldwide sales after launch. Kalsec will be responsible for
regulatory, manufacturing, and sales and marketing costs. The
natural ingredient resulting from this collaboration will allow
Kalsec to pursue a larger market share in an existing $200M global segment. Willow expects the research
and development phase of the agreement to be completed in 2024 with
regulatory and scale-up work to continue into 2025.
"We are excited to see our technology platform continue to
deliver with the transition of yet another research program to
commercial reality" said Dr. Chris
Savile, Willow's President & CEO. "Beyond the commercial
benefits to both Willow and Kalsec under this agreement, we are
proud to be partnering with an ingredient leader like Kalsec to
bring safer, more sustainable natural products to consumers."
Dr. Roger Nahas, Kalsec's Chief
Innovation Officer said "we remain strongly committed to the
sustainability and innovation benefits of bioconversion to generate
affordable, effective, and safe natural solutions to savory foods'
toughest ingredient needs and challenges. We are very proud and
excited to continue working with Willow and their talented and
capable team."
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 FutureGrown™ and BioOxi™ platforms
enable 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,
or to view Willow's updated corporate presentation,
visit www.willowbio.com.
FutureGrown™ and BioOxi™ are registered trademarks of Willow
Biosciences Inc. All other trademarks 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, platforms and operations, and, more
particularly, statements concerning: the collaboration agreement
and development program with Kalsec, including the ability to
accommodate new programs and to expand capabilities and transition
R&D programs to commercial revenue; 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; 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; competition from other industry participants; adverse
U.S., Canadian and global economic conditions; adverse global
events and public-health crises; 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.sedarplus.ca.
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.