Biotech Firm: Fermentation-Based Cannabinoid Production Ready for Industrial Scale

Lygos, Inc. — a full-stack provider of sustainable specialty ingredients meant for cannabinoid-based consumer, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical products —announced in a press release this week it had finalized a novel process of creating cannabinoids with proprietary fermentation and processing technology.

The process will enable the industrial-scale production of “any cannabinoid and cannabinoid-based product of interest” in a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective manner, the company stated.

The development resulted from Lygos’ February acquisition of Librede, Inc, a synthetic biology company specializing in cannabinoid products.

“We couldn’t be more pleased at the speed with which the Librede and Lygos teams integrated efforts and technologies despite the global pandemic and shutdowns,” said Eric Steen, CEO of Lygos.

“These rapid advances have accelerated our timetable for forming partnerships and delivering new cannabinoid-enabled products into the market. By delivering high quality, pure and sustainable cannabinoids at commercial volumes and competitive prices, we are poised to rapidly enter high-growth consumer market segments with Lygos branded or co-branded products by capitalizing on the expertise and reach of our strategic partners.”  — Eric Steen, PhD, CEO of Lygos

In 2019, synthetic biologists at the University of California, Berkeley successfully extracted cannabinoids from brewers yeast. Those cannabinoid extractions included THC, CBD, and others not found naturally in the cannabis plant.