In May 2023, Kalsec partnered with Willow Biosciences Inc. (Willow), a biotechnology company focused on revolutionizing industrial manufacturing of pure, consistent and sustainable functional ingredients, to enter into a follow-on Master Services Agreement (MSA) to develop an enzyme used in biocatalytic production of a new, advanced ingredient used in natural beverage applications.
As of July 2023, Willow and Kalsec Inc. have announced the two are advancing the duo's functional ingredient development program for a large volume savory foods venture.
Related: Kalsec x Willow Biosciences to Develop Novel Enzyme for Advanced Beverage Ingredient
After a successful phase one feasibility program that applied Willow’s BioOxiTM platform exceeded expectations, Kalsec has agreed to continue full development toward commercialization that includes additional R&D and scale-up work. Willow expects to continue generating revenue from research fees and milestones, aligning with its strategic focus on near-term revenue generation on programs bringing commercial revenue in reasonable timeframes, with anticipated ongoing negotiation of commercial terms as the program advances.
Chris Savile, Ph.D., Willow's president and CEO, stated, "We appreciate the trust Kalsec has in Willow to help with their innovation pathway and are delighted to partner with them on this next step in our engagement on ingredient development. Looking forward, we are excited by the opportunity to engage with Kalsec’s extraordinary team in bringing to market what could potentially be a number of sustainably sourced innovative ingredients that favorably enhance customers' products and the consumer experience."
Roger Nahas, Ph.D., executive vice president of Global R&D and chief innovation officer at Kalsec added, "Willow has proven its capabilities repeatedly during our engagement over the last few months and we anticipate a long partnership as the result of our success working together. Toward that end, our team has identified a number of savory food and beverage ingredient targets where we can potentially engage with Willow to help bring the best products possible to Kalsec’s customers with a keen focus on market-leading innovation and sustainability."
