CULT Food Science Corp said it has formed a special committee to investigate intellectual property (IP) development and investing in the areas of novel air protein and starch synthesis technology.
Headed by its president Lejjy Gafour, the special committee will explore opportunities in “these promising and potentially vast new areas within the cellular agriculture and precision fermentation industries” to advance the food technology company.
“The opportunities presented by advancements in cellular agriculture, precision fermentation, and synthetic biology open the door to new methods of production that have never before been possible,” Gafour said in a statement.
“With the looming climate crisis, exploring cutting edge technologies to convert carbon dioxide into bio-based products such as proteins is a promising opportunity to both address climate issues and increase available food sources globally,” he added.
READ: CULT Food Science files provisional patent application for the production of cultured meat and use of additives
CULT noted a recent article on starch synthesis technology in the Paper in Science magazine, detailing a system to reduce carbon dioxide to methanol by converting enzymes to carbon sugar units, and then to starch.
Researchers at an institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences had developed a way to artificially create starch from carbon dioxide much quicker than plants can naturally, potentially cutting the amount of farmland needed for starch crops.
“The implications of this development, along with those in the air protein category, are of significant interest to CULT and its evolving strategy to develop its own intellectual property via patent applications and other intangible assets,” the company said.
Separately, CULT said it has appointed Rolf Smeets and Guru Ramanathan to its advisory board to complement the company’s focus on providing ethical, sustainable, and nutritional food products around the world.
The company noted that Smeets, an energetic and passionate leader with more than 22 years of experience in the specialized nutrition industry, has a PhD in medical science focused on molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell biology, and an MBA. He is well versed in nutritional supplements, functional food, and medical nutrition and has experience designing science-based nutritional products, testing safety and efficacy in clinical trials, and commercial strategy.
He has also worked with governments and health care providers, implementing and ensuring access to the right nutritional regimens for patients and has been involved in shaping new regulations on medical food, in the EU and China, and has contributed to the creation of products that have become vital in the medical nutrition market.
“(For) the last 25 years, I was working as R&D and market access lead on innovate solutions in the food space for companies like Danone (OTCQX:DANOY), Nutricia and GNC. It made me realize that the future access to high quality food in a sustainable way is becoming a big challenge globally,” Smeets said, adding that he believes cell-based foods, including cultivated meat and cultured dairy will play an important role to overcome the challenge.
Meanwhile, Ramanathan, who has an MBA from Duke University and a PhD in Management of Innovation in Healthcare, is currently an adjunct professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and has over 25 years of experience in the medical management and nutrition sectors, and has conducted a wide range of specialty work in areas including, but not limited to, clinical trials management, consumer healthcare product development and manufacturing, management of technology in healthcare, disease management in international and developing markets.
Ramanathan is also a globally recognized expert in healthcare innovation management and commercialization. He is currently serving on other advisory and corporate boards for established and early-stage companies in global food and nutrition, primary medical care and other industries. He is celebrated as the leader of international and interdisciplinary teams that have driven progressive profit growth while evolving the medical business sector.
“CULT is innovating at the very cutting edge of what represents the future of human food and nutrition. Their work today will revolutionize how we will come to view and think about food quality, safety and security, its impact on the environment and ultimately on poverty and malnutrition. This is a very exciting time to be part of the CULT team and I am looking forward to working with them on commercialization of their innovation output,” Ramanathan said of his appointment.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com