Willow Biosciences Inc. has advanced its work on its proprietary yeast strain for production of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and plans to commercially launch in the Canadian market.

Willow's Canadian-based research and development group has developed a proprietary yeast strain and process for the production of THC, and is working toward a pilot-scale run later this year. While there is already a well-established market for THC in Canada, the company believes there is significant demand from consumer product manufacturers looking for a consistent, high-purity, odorless, flavorless THC ingredient like Willow's for the 2.0 market, which consists of vapes, edibles, beverages, concentrates and topicals. 

The THC market for 2.0 products is already a multibillion-dollar, market. Willow has identified a development partner for product isolation, purification and scale-up to pilot and is in talks with several manufacturing companies in Canada to serve the adult-use market.

"We are excited to announce our proprietary THC yeast biosynthesis production process for launch in the Canadian market," said Trevor Peters, Willow's president and CEO. "Our platform technology enables us to produce a variety of cannabinoids and leverage our previous work on CBG. From conversations with prospective customers in Canada, we believe that there is significant demand for consistent, high-purity THC. The flavorless, odorless attributes of our finished product make it suitable as a core ingredient for the cannabis 2.0 market in Canada. There is also strong demand for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce THC. Our manufacturing process is 50 to 500 times more efficient than indoor cultivation and is the next evolution of sustainable cannabinoid manufacturing."

Willow will launch its THC into the Canadian adult-use market first due to its highly-regulated, legal and developed status. The company is carefully watching the developments in the United States surrounding potential legalization and will be ready to react to any positive regulatory changes should they arise.

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