VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Willow Biosciences
Inc. ("Willow" or the "Company")
(TSX: WLLW) (OTCQX: CANSF) is pleased to announce that it is
undertaking two initiatives to help our customers evaluate and
better understand cannabigerol ("CBG"), our first commercial
cannabinoid slated for production in Q1 2021.
Willow has engaged Signum Biosciences, a leading
biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development
of innovative consumer products, to generate a robust safety and
data package for our CBG to demonstrate its safety and activity as
a cosmetic ingredient. The Company has also engaged a
world-renowned regulatory consulting group to perform a
comprehensive safety assessment to independently conclude that our
CBG is Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) for use as an ingredient
in food and beverage products and support future novel food
submissions in multiple jurisdictions.
"The work we are doing to study the safety and activity of CBG
will help to separate us from the rest of the industry," said
Trevor Peters, Willow's President
and Chief Executive Officer. "We expect to supply our customers
with highly pure product and provide them with the tools they need
to create a diverse set of consumer products with CBG."
To support the above product development initiatives and further
expand our knowledge of phytocannabinoids, the Company is pleased
to announce the appointment of Dr. Mathias
Schuetz to Vice President, Plant Science. Dr. Schuetz was
previously Vice President, Research & Development. The
Company is also pleased to announce the promotion of Dr.
Trish Choudhary to Vice President,
Research & Development to lead our yeast strain engineering
efforts. Dr. Choudhary has been with Willow since April 2019 in the role of Senior Director, Strain
Engineering and has been overseeing the research and development
efforts at our lab in Mountain View,
California, since joining. Prior to joining Willow, Dr.
Choudhary worked in senior leadership and technical roles at E-SEP
Technologies and Codexis.
"Dr. Schuetz has been leading our cannabis plant research
efforts with the goal of improving cannabinoid production in our
yeast strains. His new title reflects his continued focus on the
plant and the Company's commitment to developing our fermentation
derived cannabinoids for consumer products. Dr. Choudhary has
been the driving force behind our high throughout strain
engineering efforts and is responsible for the rapid increases in
performance we have achieved. She will be a valuable addition
to our executive leadership team," said Dr. Chris Savile, Chief Operating Officer.
About Willow Biosciences Inc.
Willow is a Canadian biotechnology company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that produces
high purity, plant-derived compounds that provide building blocks
for the global pharmaceutical, health and wellness, and consumer
packaged goods industries. Willow's current focus is in the
production of cannabinoids for the treatment for pain, anxiety,
obesity, brain disorders, among other significant indications.
Willow's science team has a proven track record of developing
manufacturing technologies for high purity compounds in pain and
cancer treatments. Willow's manufacturing process creates a
consistent, scalable and sustainable product that allows for the
discovery and development of new life changing drugs.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may include forward-looking statements
including opinions, assumptions, estimates and the Company's
assessment of future plans and operations, and, more particularly,
statements concerning: Willow's milestone projections, including
the timing of commercialization scale-up; the results and benefits
of the Company's CBG safety initiatives; and the business plan of
the Company, generally, including cannabinoid research and
production. 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 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
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 to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements including, but not
limited to, risks associated with: the cannabinoid 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; import/export and research
restrictions for cannabinoid-based operations; the size of the
medical-use and adult-use cannabinoid market; competition from
other industry participants; adverse U.S., Canadian and global
economic conditions; adverse global events and public-health
crises, including the current COVID-19 outbreak; failure to comply
with certain regulations; departure of key management personnel or
inability to attract and retain talent; and other factors more
fully described from time to time in the reports and filings made
by the Company with securities regulatory authorities. Please refer
to the AIF and the MD&A for additional risk factors relating to
Willow, which can be accessed either on Willow's website at
www.willowbio.com or under the Company's profile on
www.sedar.com.
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.