CULT Food Science Corp (CSE:CULT, OTCQB:CULTF) said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Peqish Group Food & Hospitality Inc with the intent to enter into a strategic collaboration agreement.
Under the terms of the MOU, the companies have agreed to exchange C$250,000 worth of each other’s common shares and enter into a joint venture (JV) to develop cellular agriculture food products that adhere to the guiding principles of culinary medicine as established by Peqish.
Medical foods are those that are specially formulated and intended for the dietary management of a disease that has distinctive nutritional needs that cannot be met by normal diet alone, CULT said.
“Entering into the MOU with Peqish is expected to result in a definitive strategic collaboration agreement in the near future. The importance of working together to conduct clinical trials is paramount if we want to discover new medical foods rooted in cellular agriculture,” Lejjy Gafour, chief executive officer of CULT said in a statement.
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“By working with Cella, Peqish and others to create innovative cell-based products, we feel that CULT and its affiliates will eventually help alleviate the food insecurity and supply chain issues that are currently plaguing the world,” Gafour added.
The JV is expected to pursue clinical trials to validate products developed by Peqish and CULT.
Peqish has agreed to provide its insights, industry network and knowledge in the culinary medicine and clinical areas, as well as access to its team of clinical and scientific experts for the clinical trials, which both Peqish and CULT believe are vital in the process of developing new products.
Meanwhile, CULT will be responsible for design research, new ideation and validation, program management, recruitment and investment with respect to the JV.
The MOU also proposes that Dr Anthony Marotta, CEO of Peqish will join CULT’s scientific advisory board. Dr Marotta is an experienced executive and serial entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of success. He has experience in business, operations, product development and science with a sound clinical understanding of personalised medicine, drug and biomarker development, health and wellness (food), autoimmunity, gastroenterology, pathology and oncology, CULT noted.
Peqish was founded by Dr Marotta and Dr Kenneth To, both scientists that wanted to create a platform of healthy food that is high in quality, prevents and treats disease, and restores wellbeing.
In addition to the patents and other intellectual property (IP) that are expected to arise as a result of the agreement and its clinical trials, CULT has previously announced the filing of three patents related to innovations in cellular agriculture.
The company and its affiliates, via a license agreement with Cella Food Systems Inc, have the non-exclusive right to use Cella’s IP portfolio for 15 years.
CULT Food Science is an innovative investment platform with an exclusive focus on cellular agriculture that is advancing the development of novel technologies to provide a sustainable, environmental, and ethical solution to the global factory farming crisis.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com