ICC International Cannabis makes US$1.2M strategic investment in US biosynthesis cannabinoid company Biotii

ICC International Cannabis Corp (CSE:WRLD.U) (OTCMKTS:WLDCF) said Monday that it has completed a US$1.2 million strategic investment in Boston, Massachusetts-based private biotech company Biotii Technologies Corp.

The investment boosts the company’s ability to access valuable intellectual property in the cannabinoids market, as Biotii is actively pursuing genetically engineered microorganisms that express cannabinoid profiles identical to those found in nature, at a fraction of the cost of current cannabis production methods.

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“ICC continues its pursuit of identifying and investing in leading cannabis technology companies. We are thoroughly impressed with the Biotii team, which consists of proven innovators from world-class institutions, whom we believe are en route to potentially disrupt a very large part of the cannabis value chain,” said International Cannabis CEO Eugene Beukman. “This investment enhances ICC’s ability to capture significant IP and market share in the fast-developing biosynthesis market for cannabinoids.”

With technological advances in gene editing, in-silico protein modeling and semi-automated robotics, Biotii has the foundation to expedite its molecular biology research, allowing it to spearhead large-scale production with a wide portfolio of intellectual property.

Biotii’s evolving IP portfolio will consist of “synthetic cannabinoids, designer enzymes and GMO microorganisms,” said the company.

Scalable synthesizing process

Biotii’s scalable synthesizing process will enable the manufacture of lesser-known cannabis compounds, as well as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) at materially lower costs when compared to conventional cultivation and extraction processes.

Traditional cultivation of cannabis plants for the purpose of extracting cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), THC and CBD is a time, labor and resource intensive endeavor that can result in depressed extraction yields of approximately 2.5%.

An alternative tool to produce cannabinoids is biosynthetic engineering, where single cell organisms are programmed to synthesize the enzymes for the metabolic pathway that generates cannabinoids from sugars. Biotii intends to leverage a unique system to mass manufacture large quantities of cannabinoids with a smaller environment footprint than other known methods.

By 2020, the Biotii team intends to establish processes to mass-produce CBD/THC in quantities of hundreds of metric tons per annum, which boast stable and consistent yields, pharmaceutical grade purities; and the lowest production costs in the space.

“Biotii looks forward to progressing our technology alongside ICC and their robust cannabis platform,” said Biotii CEO Dr John Harrold. “ICC has earned a reputation of being a thought leader in the space and we are excited by the possibilities of tapping into ICC’s unique expertise and resources as we look to disrupt the cannabis industry.”

Dr Harrold is an MIT instructor with expertise in end-to-end bio-lab management. He is also an entrepreneur with having started four start-ups, including two funded by the National Science Foundation.

Similarly, Biotii chief product officer Sisi Ni is an MIT trained materials scientist and engineer who was previously named as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30.

Biotii has formed key relationships with leading medical research institutions in both the US and China.

Vancouver-based ICC is developing cultivation platforms for cultivation, extraction, formulation and distribution for cannabis and has operating assets in the UK, Europe, Australia, South America and Africa.

Contact Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive

Story by ProactiveInvestors