Roseville, MN, USA
December 8, 2021
– Represents significant progress in sustainable discovery and development of plant-based molecules in Calyxt’s BioFactory
– Forms a baseline library of chemistries and building block precursors available for valuable downstream markets like cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals
– Pilot BioFactory remains on track to be operational by end of 2021
Calyxt, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLXT), a plant-based synthetic biotechnology company, today announced the completion of a key milestone in its lab-scale BioFactory™ manufacturing system. The results identified through the Company’s metabolomics analyses indicate over 15,000 chemical signatures, including both known and as-yet-uncharacterized molecules and building block precursors, chemical compounds involved in chemical reactions that produce other compounds. These chemical signatures form a baseline library available for Calyxt to produce valuable compounds within its proprietary plant-based biomanufacturing system.
“With this technical milestone, Calyxt builds on our earlier proofs of concept and bolsters our commercial discussions, particularly because the families of chemistries identified in these results perform important functions as active ingredients in certain of our target markets, like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals,” said Michael A. Carr, President and Chief Executive Officer at Calyxt. “The promise of the BioFactory – to enable our customers to more sustainably access finite botanical ingredients – is one step closer to being realized through these results.”
The metabolomics analyses have identified molecules across a diverse and valuable group of chemical classes including terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, alkaloids, and sterols, plus chemical signatures that may represent new, previously uncharacterized plant-based molecules. In addition, Calyxt has recently completed gene-expression profiling that has identified patterns of genes that can be used to engineer precursor molecules for conversion to an even broader suite of chemistries.
“These impactful results build on our previously reported successes with two proofs of concept, ovalbumin egg white protein and the antioxidant betanin. Early research indicated our multicellular plant cell matrices would be capable of producing a diverse group of chemistries, and that is supported by the analysis announced today. This broad set of building blocks provide important tools as we seek to engineer the new and innovative chemistries our customers are expected to demand,” said Travis Frey, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer at Calyxt. “From here, guided by customers’ needs and our proprietary metabolite engineering capabilities, we anticipate the optimization of target molecule production and performance at greater scale.”
Calyxt’s BioFactory will produce the target products, first at lab volumes, then at pilot, and ultimately at manufacturing scale. The Company’s pilot BioFactory is currently being installed at its Roseville, Minnesota, headquarters and is on track to be operational by the end of 2021.
About Calyxt:
Calyxt (Nasdaq: CLXT) is a plant-based synthetic biotechnology company. The Company leverages its proprietary PlantSpring™ technology platform to engineer innovative materials and products for its customers to help them meet their sustainability goals. Calyxt’s diversified offerings are primarily delivered through its proprietary BioFactory™ production system. For more information, visit www.calyxt.com.
PlantSpring, BioFactory, and the Calyxt logo are trademarks of Calyxt, Inc. Any other trademarks belong to their respective owners.
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