Kalsec powers up precision fermentation abilities for ingredient discovery in Willow Biosciences partnership

09 Nov 2022 --- Kalsec has joined forces with biotech firm Willow Biosciences to develop and commercialize a precision fermentation production process for high-volume applications. This technique will be used to harness the metabolic properties of brewer’s yeast to produce new ingredients.

The new partnership comprises phases of R&D and scale-up activities, with Willow generating revenues from both research fees and milestone payments.

"We are pleased to add a new functional ingredient to our portfolio, highlighting the demand for our fully integrated FutureGrown technology platform,” remarks Dr. Peter Seufer-Wasserthal, Willow’s president & CEO.

Willow’s FutureGrown technology platform is a fully integrated solution for rapid strain engineering, process development and scaled-up manufacturing that incorporates the latest technologies available for precision fermentation.

FoodIngredientsFirst has reached out to Kalsec and Willow for further comments on specifics of their scale-up ambitions.

In precision fermentation, researchers harness microbes to act as microscopic “factories” that produce food ingredients, like cowless casein.Harnessing microbes as factories
The use of precision fermentation is growing more prevalent, with researchers continuously scaling its potential to create classic animal-based products without the animal. In this process, microbes are harnessed to act as microscopic “factories” that produce food ingredients, like cowless casein.

This emergent technology has evidently forged a whole new food category of its own, with authentic cheese, ice cream, milk, sweeteners and designer fats, building upon its growing roster of innovative applications.

Last August, biotech company TurtleTree edged closer to producing the “world’s first” environmentally sustainable bovine lactoferrin, using precision fermentation technology.

Willow’s R&D pipeline now includes four functional ingredients utilizing its FutureGrown technology. Last month, Dr. Seufer-Wasserthal announced the company’s next functional ingredient they plan to produce is astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant compound.

Willow is also poised to be the first company to commercially produce cannabigerol (CBG), the “mother of all cannabinoids.”

Target areas of partnership
Kalsec’s projects with Willow harness 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.

This isn’t Kalsec’s first foray into the precision fermentation space. In August, the company linked up with Infinome Biosciences, a global producer of natural spice and herb extracts, to develop and commercialize multiple ingredient-producing microbes to be used in precision fermentation processes.

“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.

By Benjamin Ferrer