Mar 21 2014
Verde Media Group Inc. has formed the Verde Media Biotechnology Division ("VMBD"). The VMBD division undertakes the business of developing and producing high value bio-products from renewable biomass. The focus and criterion is to develop proprietary microbial technologies with low risk scale-up methods that employ low cost feedstock.
VMBD will initially focus on Omega-3 oil production. The market for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 products measured by global consumer spending on EPA/DHA fortified products was $25.4 billion in 2011 for the six following categories: infant formula; fortified foods and beverages; nutritional supplements; pharmaceuticals; clinical nutrition; and pet food, treats and supplements. The projected market value of EPA/ DHA omega-3 products will reach $34.7 billion in 2016 with a continued accelerated growth rate over the next 5 years.
VMBD has entered into a Letter of Intent ("LOI") to acquire an initial 20% equity stake of Boston based Butazyme LLC, for $2.0 million USD. VMBD has also established qualified terms with the company to jointly scale the platform technology.
Butazyme specializes in the microbial production of an alternative source of omega-3 oils, primarily, DHA and EPA. The global market for omega-3 is expected to reach $34.7 billion in 2016 with a continued accelerated growth rate over the next 5 years. Butazyme's microbial platform competes favorably with both traditional and microbial methods of producing omega-3 oils. Butazyme's competitive advantages include the ability to convert multiple inexpensive feedstocks into omega-3 oils, capability of achieving high yields of DHA oils and the ability to rapidly deploy large scale production to meet growing demands. Butazyme has already achieved semi-pilot scale production of omega-3 oils at 1000-liter scale and is currently scaling to 25,000-liter process.
VMBD will also employ cutting edge microbial technology program to produce cannabis-based phytocannabinoid products, including delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). The VMBD team will use the tool of metabolic engineering to transfer cannabis genetic pathways in microbes representing an alternative route to produce cannabinoids at an affordable and scalable manner.
The division will further develop platform technologies for extracting highly purified forms of cannabis-based phytocannabinoid products, including D9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). VMBD will develop the derivative and ester forms of THC for increase potency and their use in different delivery systems, including sublingual, inhaled dosage forms and blending with food products.
The wide spread use of cannabis based medicines in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, chronic pain and many others requires large scale production of cannabinoids. VMBD and its novel approach will complement, traditional greenhouse based production of plant material, for rapid commercialization of active and derivative chemicals for both medical and recreational use.
The initial core team consists of experienced scientists and financial experts. Mr. Syed Hussain Abidi, PhD in biotechnology, from Oxford University, leads the VMBD division as the Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Abidi has worked in the chemical engineering school at MIT and Harvard University and brings 10 years of experience in organism development and fermentation that will be critical to developing new technologies. He invented a microbial process of converting sugars to oil similar to vegetable derived oil used in the biofuel industry that lead to a series of high profile patents. Several of his patents have been successfully licensed to biotech companies both in the US and globally resulting in significant first round investments.
William Veve, President of Verde Media Group, Inc. stated, "The VMBD initiative is an extremely important endeavor for our company and we will continue to focus our resources on its rapid growth."