WILLOW ANNOUNCES MULTI-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND LICENSING PARTNERSHIP WITH LAURUS LABS FOR MANUFACTURING ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS
Willow Biosciences has announced a major partnership with Laurus Labs to develop and license multiple pharmaceutical ingredients. This strategic alliance grants Laurus access to Willow's AI-driven bioengineering platform, targeting seven high-value APIs, including corticosteroids. This partnership is Willow's largest to date, projected to generate significant annual revenues, with $4 million guaranteed in the first year for research and development. Willow's technology will help Laurus produce more sustainable and cost-effective APIs. Both companies anticipate commercial manufacturing to begin in 2025.
- Largest partnership Willow has signed to date.
- Guaranteed $4 million in R&D payments in the first year.
- Expected significant annual revenues and royalties upon commercialization.
- Partnership leverages Willow's advanced AI-driven bioengineering platform.
- Access to Laurus' extensive manufacturing capabilities, including nine facilities.
- Potential for more sustainable and cost-effective API manufacturing.
- Strong alignment with Laurus' need for reduced cost and waste in API production.
- BioOxi platform can reduce multiple chemical steps, lowering costs and resources.
- Strategic focus on pharmaceutical ingredients supports Willow’s market expansion.
- Commercial manufacturing not expected to begin until 2025, delaying revenue realization.
- Reliance on the successful optimization and scaling of Willow’s BioOxi platform.
- Potential risks associated with integrating new bioprocesses into Laurus' existing systems.
- No specific details on the projected revenue beyond initial R&D payments.
- Dependence on Laurus’ market performance for royalty-based revenues.
Collaboration provides Laurus access to Willow's AI-driven bioengineering platform
The strategic alliance includes an initial seven high-value advanced intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients, including Willow's corticosteroid programs
The agreement with Laurus is the largest collaboration agreement Willow has signed to date
Through this partnership, Willow will leverage its AI-driven technology platform and extensive experience in enzyme, strain, and process engineering to deliver biobased processes for high-value Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) with existing markets, including Willow's BioOxiTM-based corticosteroid processes, for large scale manufacturing, sales, and distribution at Laurus. Willow and Laurus expect these first programs to reach commercial manufacture in 2025.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Willow expects to earn significant annual revenues in research & development and royalties, including
Laurus recognized the need to employ more sustainable methods to manufacture its APIs with reduced cost and less waste and thus, identified Willow's expertise and, specifically, its AI-driven BioOxi platform, for developing transformative bioprocesses to key APIs. This new partnership will start with the continued optimization and scaling of Willow's BioOxi platform, along with development of new processes for targets within Laurus' API and other ingredient portfolios.
Willow's BioOxi biological hydroxylation platform solves for selective C-H hydroxylation at industrial scale – often referred to as one of the "Holy Grails" of chemistry. BioOxi-enabled biomanufacturing of ingredients can remove multiple chemical steps and significantly reduce cost and resources.
"We are excited to be partnering with Laurus Labs, one of the most respected and established pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers in the world. This strategic partnership is the culmination of Willow's new focus on pharmaceutical ingredients and investment over the past two years," said Dr. Chris Savile, Willow's President & CEO. "We are proud our technology platform is being integrated with Laurus to support their commercialization of more sustainable, cost-effective products."
Commenting on the collaboration partnership, CEO of Laurus Labs Dr. Satyanarayana Chava said, "Willow has demonstrated through its bioengineering technology platform a unique capability to significantly reduce the cost of API production while enabling greater product availability. We look forward to a long and successful partnership, which we believe will further strengthen Laurus' strong reputation for market innovation."
With its largest agreement to-date, this multi-product agreement adds both near-term R&D and long-term commercial upside to Willow's already robust and growing pipeline of commercial opportunities in food, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture.
Willow develops and produces precision fermented functional ingredients for the health and wellness, food and beverage and personal care markets. Willow's FutureGrown™ and BioOxi™ platforms enable large-scale production with sustainability at its core. Willow's R&D team has a proven track record of developing and commercializing bio-based manufacturing processes and products to benefit our B2B partners and their customers. For more information, or to view Willow's updated corporate presentation, visit www.willowbio.com.
FutureGrown™ and BioOxi™ are registered trademarks of Willow Biosciences Inc. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective holders.
Founded in 2005, Laurus Labs is a research-driven pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with an aim to improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world. Laurus has a global leadership position in select APIs including anti-retroviral, oncology drugs (incl High Potent APIs), Cardiovascular, and Gastro therapeutics. Laurus also offers integrated Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) services to Global Innovators from Clinical phase drug development to commercial manufacturing. Laurus is passionate about continuous technological advances for Smart and Green chemistry technologies to drive efficiencies and sustainable manufacturing backed by proven regulatory and quality foundation. Laurus employs 6500+ people, including around 1250+ scientists at more than 11 facilities approved by global agencies USFDA, WHO-Geneva, Japan-PDMA,
For more information visit www.lauruslabs.com.
This news release may include forward-looking statements including opinions, assumptions, estimates and the Company's assessment of future plans, platforms and operations, and, more particularly, statements concerning: the collaboration agreement and development program with Laurus, including the ability to accommodate new programs and to expand capabilities and transition R&D programs to commercial revenue; the demand and market size potential of the synthetic ingredients industry; and the business plan of the Company, generally, including becoming a leader in precision fermentation, research and production of functional ingredients. When used in this news release, the words "will," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intent," "may," "project," "should," and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by the Company which include, but are not limited to: the success of Willow's strategic partnerships, including the partnership with Laurus and the development of future strategic partnerships; the financial strength of the Company; the ability of the Company to fund its business plan using cash on hand and existing resources; the market for Willow's products; the ability of the Company to obtain and retain applicable licences; the ability of the Company to obtain suitable manufacturing partners and other strategic relationships; and the successful implementation of Willow's commercialization and production strategy, generally. Forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although the Company believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will be realized. Any number of important factors could cause actual results biotechnology industry in general; the success of the Company's research and development strategies; infringement on intellectual property; failure to benefit from partnerships or successfully integrate acquisitions; actions and initiatives of federal and provincial governments and changes to government policies and the execution and impact of these actions, initiatives and policies; competition from other industry participants; adverse
Any financial outlook and future-oriented financial information contained in this document regarding prospective financial performance, financial position, cash balances or revenue, including the anticipated receipt of
Financial information in this news release is expressed in Canadian dollars.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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SOURCE Willow Biosciences Inc.
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