Rothamsted Research Grants Yield10 Bioscience an Exclusive, Global Commercial License to Advanced Technology for Producing Omega-3 Products in Camelina
Engineered Camelina is intended to enable the land-based production of omega-3 oils used in aquafeed, petfood and human nutrition
WOBURN, Mass. and HARPENDEN, United Kingdom, June 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (OTC:YTEN) (“Yield10” or the “Company”), an agricultural bioscience company, today announced that U.K.-based Rothamsted Research Limited (“Rothamsted”) has granted to the Company an exclusive global, commercial license to advanced technology for producing sustainable omega-3 products in Camelina sativa (“Camelina”). Yield10 is executing a plan to use engineered Camelina to commercially produce omega-3 oil and meal products targeting the aquafeed, petfood, and nutritional markets for omega-3 fatty acids. In consideration for the commercial license, Yield10 is expected to pay certain license fees, future milestone payments, and royalties based on commercialization of Rothamsted’s omega-3 technology.
Producing omega-3 fatty acids in engineered Camelina may represent a way to enable a predictable, land-based supply of high-quality omega-3 oils to meet the growing global demand for eicosapentaenoic acid (“EPA”) and docosahexaenoic acid (“DHA”). Currently, the primary source of EPA and DHA is ocean-caught fish, where omega-3 oil produced from anchovy harvest is the industry benchmark. Over the last few years, there has been increasing pressure on the supply of omega-3 oil due to over-fishing. The potential market opportunity for omega-3 fatty acids produced in Camelina includes use in pharmaceutical (ethyl-EPA) products, dietary supplements, and food and feed ingredients.
“Over the last three years, the Yield10 team has provided us with expertise and support as our team has advanced the development of engineered Camelina from field testing to planting at multi-acre scale to produce omega-3 oil,” said Professor Angela Karp, Rothamsted director and chief executive officer. “Yield10’s innovations and capabilities in Camelina are impressive and successful commercialization of this technology could have significant benefits, offering sustainable production of an oil essential for nutrition and wellness to consumers, as well as providing crop diversification to growers. We look forward to the commercialization of omega-3 oil and meal products by Yield10 in the years ahead.”
“Enabled by the Rothamsted technology, we are on a promising path to commercializing elite omega-3 producing varieties of Camelina that combine good agronomics in the field while also producing high-value, high-purity omega-3 oils possessing very attractive economics,” said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “In 2024, we are positioned to execute on the scale-up of omega-3 producing Camelina and to submit key regulatory filings with the goal of being ready for an initial commercial launch into the oil and meal markets. We also look forward to improving the current Camelina varieties over time particularly with the deployment of herbicide tolerance and other performance traits.”
In late 2020, Yield10 began a collaboration with Rothamsted to support Rothamsted’s Flagship Program to develop omega-3 oils in Camelina. The advanced technology developed by Rothamsted enables the sustainable, plant-based production of omega-3 nutritional oils in Camelina. Over the last decade, the Rothamsted team, led by Professor Johnathan Napier, Ph.D., Science Director, has demonstrated the production of omega-3 oils in Camelina seed and conducted evaluations of the oils in salmon feeding and human clinical studies to demonstrate lipid lowering effects.
Recent Achievements in Yield10’s Omega-3 Camelina Program
- In the spring of 2024, Yield10 planted omega-3 (EPA and EPA+DHA) Camelina to scale up seed. Yield10 is also field testing for the first time herbicide tolerant omega-3 Camelina lines to guide selection of commercial quality lead and back-up lines.
- In the fall of 2023, Yield10 planted omega-3 (EPA) Camelina at the 50 acre-scale in Chile to produce oil for use in business development activities. The crop was harvested in early 2024.
- In March of 2024, USDA-APHIS provided a positive response to the Company’s announced filings for two requests for a Regulatory Status Review (“RSR”) with USDA-APHIS’s Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) under the SECURE Rule for proprietary elite Camelina varieties containing genes enabling the plant to produce the EPA and EPA+DHA components of omega-3 oil. Yield10 plans to conduct seed scale-up activities with omega-3 Camelina in 2024. Omega-3 fatty acids are used in aquafeed as well as for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.
- In November of 2023, USDA-APHIS determined that Yield10’s glufosinate tolerant Camelina as well as its stacked herbicide tolerant Camelina may be planted and bred in the United States in response to two RSR packages submitted by Yield10.
- In October 2023, Yield10 announced it had signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with BioMar Group, a global aquafeed producer, to form a partnership to commercialize Camelina engineered to produce omega-3 oil for use as a high-quality supplement to the scarce supply of marine long-chain fatty acids used in aquafeed. The companies are working to develop a collaborative program to bring this new source of high-quality EPA and EPA+DHA omega-3 oils to the market.
About Rothamsted Research
Rothamsted Research is the longest-running agricultural research institute in the world. We work from gene to field with a proud history of ground-breaking discoveries, from crop treatment to crop protection, from statistical interpretation to soils management. In 1843, our founders were the pioneers of modern agriculture, and we are known for our imaginative science and our collaborative influence on fresh thinking and farming practices. Through independent science and innovation, Rothamsted has made significant contributions to improving agri-food systems in the UK and internationally. In terms of the institute’s economic contribution, the cumulative impact of our work in the UK was calculated to exceed £3000 million a year in 20151. Rothamsted Research is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional support from other national and international funding streams, and from industry. It is also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT).
For more information, visit the Rothamsted website or follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Rothamsted
About Yield10 Bioscience
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (“Yield10” or the “Company”) is an agricultural bioscience company that is leveraging advanced genetics to develop the oilseed Camelina sativa (“Camelina”) as a platform crop for large-scale production of sustainable seed products. These seed products include feedstock oils for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation biofuels; omega-3 (EPA and DHA+EPA) oils for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and aquafeed applications; and, in the future, PHA bioplastics for use as biodegradable bioplastics. Subject to the availability of sufficient financial resources to continue operations, our commercial plan is based on establishing a grain contracting business leveraging our proprietary elite Camelina seed varieties, focusing on the growing demand for low-carbon intensity feedstock oil for biofuels and omega-3 oils for nutritional applications. Yield10 is headquartered in Woburn, MA and has a Canadian subsidiary, Yield10 Oilseeds Inc., located in Saskatoon, Canada.
For more information about the Company, please visit www.yield10bio.com, or follow the Company on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn.
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Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical, including, without limitation, the development of EPA and EPA+DHA Camelina and the performance and production capacity of the omega-3 production technology, the potential for large-scale production of EPA8 Camelina, the future commercialization, potential market opportunity, economic viability and further development of the omega-3 varieties of Camelina and the omega-3 oils produced therefrom, and the potential for the omega-3 production technology to provide sustainable alternatives to existing means of omega-3 oil production, constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the Company’s ability to secure adequate funding in the near term to continue operations, as to which no assurance can be given, as well as the risks and uncertainties detailed in Yield10 Bioscience’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Yield10 assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the matters described herein.
Contacts:
Rothamsted Research:
James Clarke, Head of Communications
+44 7964 832719, james.clarke@rothamsted.ac.uk
Yield10 Bioscience:
Lynne H. Brum, (617) 682-4693, LBrum@yield10bio.com
