Cellibre, Inc.

SAN DIEGO--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Cellibre, a leader in sustainable biomanufacturing, announced today a $1.5 million award from the Department of Defense (DoD) as part of the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP), which seeks to strengthen domestic supply chains and sustain America's global prominence in biotechnology. The DBIMP will execute these investments through the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA). “Over the last 20 years, globalization has had amazing benefits for society, including lower prices and greater access to a tremendous amount of goods and services,” said Ben Chiarelli, CEO of Cellibre. “However, the unintended consequences of this are that many of our critical supply chains are extremely fragmented, relying too heavily on foreign production and resources. In good times, we do not realize the many points of failure and risk as consumers. In turbulent times, however, like we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fragility of globalization becomes apparent. Establishing domestic chemical production and becoming ‘chemical independent’ is no longer a nice to have, it is a national security imperative.” A report published in April 2024 by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) highlights the shift that has occurred in global chemical production since the 1990s. Of importance, in 2022, China accounted for forty-four (44) percent of global chemical production, up from five (5) percent in 1995. China also accounted for approximately forty-six (46) percent of global capital investment in chemical production in 2022. This is, in part, because China is already the largest chemicals market in the world, giving Chinese producers a key advantage in their home market as well as the ability to drive down pricing globally with economies of scale. While this nearly fifty (50) percent of global market share may seem high, in actuality, the percentage of chemicals that rely on this Chinese production is much larger. Chemical supply chains are deeply interconnected and reliant on multiple inputs and various producers, and can be very complex. Absent coherent policy responses by Western nations, their share of chemical production will likely fall significantly and become even more dependent on these global supply chains. Cellibre’s initial strategic focus is to change the way natural products, specifically plant-based compounds, are manufactured. Agricultural production of these compounds is riddled with complications and more importantly, for critical supply chains, agricultural processes are not rapid enough to meet demand spikes in real time. Natural products are mostly known for their uses in functional foods, clean beauty, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and general wellness products. However, many of nature’s ingredients have industrial uses, including many of the chemicals in Cellibre’s portfolio. As an example, several natural products are monomers and can be utilized to produce advantaged thermal-setting resins, certain polymers, and energetics. “The state of the global chemical supply chain and our reliance on other nations highlights perfectly why the initiatives being put forward by DoD are so critical, not only to national security but also to personal security,” said Dr. Nicky Caiazza, Cellibre’s Chief Scientific Officer. “Utilizing biomanufacturing presents an enormous opportunity to leverage the unique and world-class agricultural assets in the United States to provide the inputs to produce chemicals domestically, without the need for complex supply chains or reliance on foreign manufacturing. At Cellibre, we have built our technologies to achieve lower cost and higher quality than the legacy production methods we look to displace. This means better, cheaper, and more resilient supply chains for our customers, our government partners, and, most importantly, taxpayers.” About the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program Following a competitive evaluation of proposed solutions, the Department entered negotiations with more than 30 selectees for business and technical planning efforts across focus areas for defense materials: fabrication, firepower, fitness, food, and fuel. Upon completion of planning efforts, businesses are eligible to enter negotiations to proceed to the next phase of the DBIMP under the DIBC, wherein the DoD will support building bioproduction infrastructure that increases the domestic supply of critical materials. About Cellibre Cellibre is a manufacturing technology company that employs an organism-agnostic approach to turn cells into specialized, sustainable factories for the manufacture of globally significant products at scale. Cellibre’s world-class scientific team has led programs from ideation to commercialization, pioneering revolutionary breakthroughs in energy, ingredients, medicines, and more. The company’s initial strategic focus is deploying our expertise to enable the production of high-value natural products and bioactives, alleviating the need for agriculture and revolutionizing the way these ingredients and chemicals are sourced, produced, and consumed. Cellibre was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information visit www.cellibre.com or reach us by emailing contact@cellibre.com Follow Cellibre on social media: LinkedIn SOURCE: Cellibre Inc.

This groundbreaking phase 2 grant will accelerate the commercialization of cannabinoid ingredient production via precision fermentation, focusing on cost-effective active pharmaceutical ingredients for conditions like appetite suppression, obesity, inflammation, and diabetes. Founded in 2019 by biomanufacturing innovators, Cellibre aims to create a sustainable manufacturing company leveraging biological processes as production catalysts. CEO Ben Chiarelli explained, “Every cell on Earth functions like a tiny factory, capable of being engineered as a new way to produce chemicals and ingredients in a better, cheaper, and more sustainable way." Chiarelli then emphasized that Cellibre harnesses nature by moving cellular assembly lines into microorganisms like yeast to create proprietary molecular factories, thus reducing the need to disrupt ecosystems. NIH grant for sustainable cannabinoid production The grant will support the production of non-euphoric cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) and cannabigerol (CBG). THCV shows promise for appetite suppression and obesity management, while CBG is studied for antibacterial properties and potential treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Cellibre’s technology reduces cannabinoid production costs by over ten-fold compared to traditional methods and significantly lowers the environmental impact associated with growing plants for cannabinoid production. Cellibre’s chief technology officer, Dr Spiros Kambourakis, said: “Cannabinoids have significant therapeutic benefits, but manufacturing these ingredients through legacy agriculture is riddled with challenges. Our precision fermentation platform solves these problems by using biology to produce high-quality, lower-cost, more sustainable cultured cannabinoids – in essence deploying nature to combat climate change, improve supply chain resilience, and improve human wellness.” googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('text-ad1'); }); Precision fermentation: The future of cost-effective pharmaceutical ingredients Cellibre’s precision fermentation 'cell factory platform' reduces the greenhouse gas footprint and ensures a consistent, scalable supply of pharmaceutical-grade ingredients. This platform also includes key bioactives for clean beauty and wellness, such as resveratrol, naringenin, and bakuchiol. Kambourakis said: “Biology is the future of manufacturing. By moving production from fields to fermentation, we can create products faster, at lower costs, and with higher quality, all while protecting our natural ecosystems.” Innovative bio-manufacturing reduces environmental impact and production costs With the global cannabinoid isolate market projected to surpass $34 billion by 2030 and over 400 active clinical trials in progress, Cellibre’s technologies are crucial for ensuring patient safety and access. Cellibre is revolutionizing the sourcing, production, and consumption of pharmaceutical-grade natural products and bioactives. The company, headquartered in San Diego, California, employs an organism-agnostic approach to transform cells into specialized, sustainable factories for large-scale production.

This first-of-its-kind phase 2 grant will expedite the commercialization of cannabinoid ingredient production via precision fermentation. The funding aims to develop cost-effective active pharmaceutical ingredients for treating conditions such as appetite suppression, obesity, inflammation, and diabetes. Cellibre, established in 2019 by a team of biomanufacturing innovators, is dedicated to creating a sustainable manufacturing company that utilizes biological processes as production catalysts. “Every cell on Earth functions like a tiny factory, capable of being engineered as a new way to produce chemicals and ingredients in a better, cheaper, and more sustainable way," said Cellibre CEO Ben Chiarelli. "Cellibre harnesses the world’s most elegant manufacturing technology, nature, by moving cellular assembly lines found in natural systems into microorganisms like yeast to create proprietary molecular factories. By feeding these cells nutrients, they produce pure, natural ingredients or chemicals, reducing the need to disrupt ecosystems – creating a revolution in sustainable manufacturing.” Cellibre secures $2 million NIH grant for sustainable cannabinoid production The grant will support the production of high-demand, non-euphoric cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) and cannabigerol (CBG). THCV is promising for appetite suppression and obesity management, while CBG is being studied for antibacterial properties and potential treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Cellibre’s technology reduces cannabinoid production costs by over ten-fold compared to traditional agricultural methods. Additionally, the environmental impact of growing plants for cannabinoid production is comparable to the greenhouse gas footprint of 15 million cars annually. Cellibre’s approach significantly lowers land, water, and energy use while improving the quality and consistency of these ingredients. googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('text-ad1'); }); “Cannabinoids have significant therapeutic benefits, but manufacturing these ingredients through legacy agriculture is riddled with challenges,” said Cellibre’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Spiros Kambourakis. “Our precision fermentation platform solves these problems by using biology to produce high-quality, lower-cost, more sustainable cultured cannabinoids – in essence deploying nature to combat climate change, improve supply chain resilience, and improve human wellness.” Cellibre’s platforms have already shown economic and quality advantages over traditional supply chains. The award will accelerate these advances as Cellibre moves from research and development to full commercialization, focusing on therapeutically relevant cannabinoids. Precision fermentation: The future of cost-effective pharmaceutical ingredients Cellibre’s precision fermentation 'cell factory platform' drastically reduces the greenhouse gas footprint associated with agricultural and petrochemical-based supply chains for various plant-based compounds. The technology ensures a consistent, scalable supply of pharmaceutical-grade ingredients, free from the variability and impurities of agricultural-based production. Beyond cannabinoids, Cellibre’s platform also includes key bioactives for clean beauty and wellness, such as resveratrol, naringenin, bakuchiol, and other functional ingredients. “Biology is the future of manufacturing,” Kambourakis stated. “By moving production from fields to fermentation, we can create products faster, at lower costs, and with higher quality, all while protecting our natural ecosystems.” Innovative bio-manufacturing reduces environmental impact and production costs With the global cannabinoid isolate market projected to surpass $34 billion by 2030 and over 400 active clinical trials in progress, Cellibre’s technologies are crucial for ensuring patient safety and access. Cellibre is a manufacturing technology company that employs an organism-agnostic approach to turn cells into specialized, sustainable factories for large-scale production of globally significant products. The company’s scientific team has led programs from ideation to commercialization, pioneering breakthroughs in energy, ingredients, medicines, and more. Initially, Cellibre focuses on enabling the production of pharmaceutical-grade natural products and bioactives, eliminating the need for agriculture and revolutionizing the sourcing, production, and consumption of these ingredients. Cellibre was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.