Fermented cannabinoids: Cellibre closes financing round as it approaches commercialization

06 Oct 2020 --- Cellibre Inc. has closed an “oversubscribed” round of bridge financing to bring its fermented cannabinoids closer to commercialization. Founded in 2017, the California-based start-up is using its technology to improve the sourcing, production and consumption of cannabinoids.

The round of financing brought in new investors focused on developing the cannabis market in the US. This marks the closure of a bridging round before entering a Series A financing round next year, in which Cellibre will be looking to scale up and commercialize its infrastructure.

The company says it is working to revolutionize the US$100 billion cannabis industry as prohibition gradually ends throughout the US and in various countries around the world.

Major deficiencies and opportunities
Cellibre says it is taking advantage of major problems currently affecting the production of cannabinoids.

“Cannabis is an extremely problematic crop. The plant makes over 400 chemicals in varying concentrations, not only crop to crop, but from plant to plant and even within the same plant,” Benjamin Chiarelli, CEO of Cellibre, tells NutritionInsight. 

Many vitamins and supplements are already made via fermentation.He emphasizes the complications that can arise from using cannabinoids as a percentage of total biomass. Even plants that are exact genetic clones and grown in identical conditions can see cannabinoids as a percentage of biomass vary by up to 30 percent.

This is due to the fact that cannabinoids are not primary metabolites, meaning they are not directly involved in the survival, growth and reproduction of the plant, Chiarelli explains. 

This natural inconsistency in the production of cannabinoids presents a major problem for the industry. 

“When you think about this in the context of building a brand, the inconsistent experience, taste and smell makes it very difficult, if not impossible. This variation becomes even more problematic when you talk about an intoxicating compound like THC,” Chiarelli states. 

“If you produce beer that is 5.9 percent alcohol, and that is on your label, it better be true. In regulated economies and markets, it not being true has serious consequences. The same will undoubtedly be true of cannabis,” he continues.

Cellibre is therefore aiming to fix this fundamental problem in the market by using techniques that can ensure the same consistency in cannabis products.

Fermenting cannabinoids
The solution, Chiarelli explained, lies largely in fermentation. “Many people do not know this, but many of your ingredients, vitamins and supplements are made via fermentation. Today, over 50 percent of the world’s medicines, such as insulin, are made via similar technologies to the ones Cellibre is building in cannabis.”

By deconstructing the plant into its individual components, it is possible to move the biology of the cannabis plant into more controllable and fasting growing cells like yeast. 

Cellibre puts the machinery from the cannabis plant that is required to make CBD into yeast. “Then, like any brewery you have ever been in, we feed that yeast with what is effectively sugar water. Instead of brewing beer, what comes out of our process is pure CBD,” says Chiarelli.

The company can also use this method for any other cannabinoids it wants to make. 

A similar method of industrial fermentation is also being utilized by Amyris to produce CBD alternatives. Meanwhile, Symrise recently revealed a “nature-identical” synthetic CBD for pharmaceutical applications. Cellibre can use its technology to make any type of cannabinoid.

Major industry advantages
Cellular agriculture can give companies a step-up in appealing to consumers’ labeling demands, including vegan, natural and kosher.

Using chemical processes also drastically reduces costs and improves sustainability. “What would take you a 5 million square feet cultivation and extraction operation, our technology could do the same volume per annum in less than 50,000 square feet,” says Chiarelli.

Increasing consistency will also make products more obtainable. “In a regulated world, post-prohibition, the entire industry is underestimating the requirements for consistent products in cGMP food and ingredient manufacturing – this is 100 times more important in brands building THC products.”

This is even more important in the context of medicinal products, which are largely unobtainable for many patients due to the expensive production processes. Some are also not as effective as they could be because of inconsistencies, Chiarelli concludes.

By Louis Gore-Langton