Cronos Group and Ginkgo Bioworks have announced an amended collaboration and license agreement (the “Amended Agreement”) that will enable the companies to accelerate the commercialization of cultured cannabinoids at scale.
Consumer-driven Products
The Amended Agreement with Ginkgo will enable Cronos Group to commercialize products using cultured cannabinoids ahead of reaching the originally stated productivity targets, while maintaining the incentives to continue to develop towards and achieve the previously agreed upon efficiency and cost goals.
This approach is expected to facilitate Cronos Group’s cultured cannabinoid products being first to market in Canada, which will drive significant market knowledge and consumer insights that are expected to help deliver future novel and innovative consumer-driven products. Cronos Group expects that the final productivity target for CBG will be achieved prior to September 2021.
Deliver Rare Cannabinoids at Scale
The Amended Agreement follows the receipt of Cronos Fermentation’s processing license in April 2021, and most recently the receipt of its CRA license. With the Amended Agreement and both licenses in hand, Cronos Fermentation commenced commercial production of CBG. Cronos Group is prioritizing rare cannabinoids, such as CBG, and plans to sequence commercial production and subsequent product launches based on this approach.
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Beginning commercial production demonstrates the significant progress underway with our Ginkgo partnership and the competitive benefits we see in being first to market with innovative consumer products,” said Kurt Schmidt, president and chief executive officer of Cronos Group. “
Cannabis holds many unique compounds with a wide range of potential use cases and benefits. By leveraging Ginkgo’s research platform and our fermentation manufacturing capabilities, we believe we have disruptive technology that can deliver rare cannabinoids at scale and elevate the consumer experience.”
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Biological manufacturing is unlocking access to important cannabinoids that can be scaled up and produced reliably, consistently and economically,” said, Jason Kelly, chief executive officer and co-founder of Ginkgo. “
We look forward to continuing our work with Cronos to facilitate innovation bringing this powerful technology to the cannabis industry.”
Source: Cronos Group