GENE THERAPY FOR POTATOES$CLLS Talk about excitement ! One of our biotech wunderkind has
taken the lead in the race to improve the cold storage performance
of sliced potatoes !
Cellectis is not only trying to fix human genes, they now have the genes of innocent plants in their crosshairs. First potatoes. Then they’ll go after soybeans, corn, and wheat. It appears that no grain will be safe.
They were just approved to start planting a genetically modified
potato, sort of like a Phase Trial for vegetables. Now don’t start to giggle and snort. You may not care if your spuds don’t do well in the fridge, but folks like McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger King will pay close attention.
Cellectis just renamed their plant division. Why, I ask myself.
In their road shows the CEO keeps trying to get a word in at the end about their plant division, but it seems the listeners are far more interested in human cancer therapy. Look, I get it…saving people from mortal cancer could be a hot thing. But a better french fry
could a have big impact on our society, too.
Coming soon to a fast food chain near you. Hoping for a plump spinoff of the Cellectis plant sciences division.
Long $CLLS
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As someone definitely outside the three inner circles of Biotech Gummies, I expect anti-GMO sentiment to grow in the U.S., and think Europe and other parts of the world which reject GMOs are right to do so unless they are ever proven safe. So short term, this may be a profitable move, but in the long term I think chains who convert to non-GMO ingredients will do better, so companies that provide GMO tech and products may suffer.
Keeping personal opinion out of the debate, I do not think the public will be able to stop the trend on large staple crops, regardless of the arguments pro or con.
When Monsanto and the other big players just start to do it, I doubt they will be stopped.
Again, leaving my personal pro or con out of it: Cellectis starts with the premise that their modifications are better for the consumer and make a better vegetable. Let us take the Cellectis potato innovation. They are modifying a gene that causes the formation of a suspected carcinogen in cold-stored potatoes. We won’t be able to tell which potatoes have this mod and which do not.We can’t see it, taste it, or smell it. The public will be given specific reasons why the mod is of great benefit. In this type of situation, I just think it will be very difficult to get traction against it because of generalized fears about gene modification. The farmers will just plant a billion acres using the new seed and that will be that.
Agriculture and GMO….attention Patricia:o It is interesting that $CLLS takes pains to mention in their press releases that certain of their developments fall outside the legal FDA definitions of GMO and are not subject to the rules in place for them.
Long $CLLS
CLLS- S&W Seed Company and Calyxt Inc Introduce Alfalfa Seed Collaboration
8:11 am ET June 9, 2015 Benzinga) S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW), a leading provider of seed genetics, production, processing and marketing for the alfalfa seed market, and Calyxt, Inc., a Minnesota-based company focusing on developing healthier food products, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Cellectis S.A. (Nasdaq: CLLS, Alternext: ALCLS.PA), today announced they have entered into a collaboration agreement to research, develop, produce and commercialize alfalfa seed products involving next generation gene editing technology on S&W’s industry leading alfalfa seed genetics. Calyxt’s technology allows for the custom gene-editing of plant species to create novel traits and increase value.
In particular, Calyxt will be applying its patented nuclease technology to develop a series of alfalfa seed products based on editing of native genes to improve the agronomic and quality value of alfalfa for the food and agriculture industries. The approach is based on the same principle as classical cross-breeding of different plants, however the gene editing technology developed by Calyxt dramatically accelerates the development timeline. The targeted approach of gene editing is more predictable and reliable than traditional breeding and can also be much more cost effective. The companies will look to commercialize products through S&W and Calyxt’s distribution channels with pre-defined financial terms.
Mark Grewal, chief executive officer of S&W Seed Company commented, “This agreement with Calyxt continues to position S&W at the forefront of alfalfa seed research and development. The Calyxt technology allows for the development of unique traits in alfalfa seeds. The ability to provide enhanced traits in alfalfa seed varieties opens up what we believe will be a significant opportunity for us, our partners and Calyxt. The world will continue to need varieties that can drive increases in productivity, while decreasing input costs to meet global demands. Our goal at S&W is to meet those challenges.”
Luc Mathis, chief executive officer of Calyxt commented, “S&W Seed Company is a great partner for us to address the alfalfa market, combining the ability to generate new traits into superior genetics, with a clear path to market. The partnership fits well with our vision of bringing higher quality products also for the feed industry.” Best-Ben
University of Minnesota Grants Calyxt an Exclusive License to its Homologous Recombination Technology in Plants July 28, 2015 BusinessWire
Calyxt, Inc., a Minnesota-based company focusing on developing healthier food products, today announced that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with the University of Minnesota that grants Cellectis the worldwide rights to use the technology covered by the patent rights of the family PCT/US2013/046495 entitled “Gene Targeting Using Replicating DNA Molecules”. In combination with nuclease technologies, this delivery method, which is based on a group of DNA viruses known as geminiviruses, enables efficient targeted modification of plant genomes and was developed by Professor Dan Voytas’ laboratory in the University of Minnesota.
Homologous recombination is a central cellular process involved in many aspects of genome maintenance such as DNA repair, replication, telomere maintenance, and meiotic chromosomal segregation. The targeted editing of plant genomes by homologous recombination is key to create a number of valuable traits.
“We are excited to add this innovation to our broad technology portfolio, that will reinforce our leading position in the field of plant gene editing, while helping expand our pipeline of healthier food products that meet consumer needs,” said Luc Mathis, Chief Executive Officer of Calyxt, Inc.
About Calyxt(1)
Founded in 2010, Calyxt, Inc. (previously Cellectis plant sciences, Inc.) is based in New Brighton, Minnesota (USA). The company aims to create healthier crop products such as low trans fat soybean oil, cold storable potato, gluten reduced wheat and low saturated canola oil for the food and agriculture industries. Calyxt is developing a network of partnerships in order to secure accessibility of its food products to consumers.
For further information please visit our website: http://www.calyxt.com
(1) Calyxt(TM) and the corporate logo are trademarks owned by Calyxt, Inc. Best-Ben
Alternative CRISPR system could improve genome editing:
http://www.nature.com/news/alternative-crispr-system-could-improve-genome-editing-1.18432
Hi Ben,
$CLLS is the only biotech I have a position in that is not a long recommendation of Dr. Kss. Doc has expressed favorable opinions on the company but has not invested in it.
One factor in my thinking on CLLS is that the plant division is seriously overlooked.
It is an asset that has agriculture as its foundation, and I am looking for ways to invest in agriculture…most of the traditional companies are processors, chemical companies, or equipment makers; commodity futures are too dangerous; and for a person like myself there are not many suitable ways to invest in farmland.
Calyxt is a considerable asset but gets no consideration in the market cap of CLLS.
Just what this asset should be worth in a spinoff is something I would like to know, but do not really have a handle on it. So basically I think of Calyxt as a big potential upside to CLLS, tantalizing for sure, but unfortunately I am unable to quantify it.
In the meantime, CLLS is a good stand-alone biotech with a passel of done deals with Pfizer and Servier, a powerful French big pharma. Pfizer has rights to select a dozen targets, each worth $ 180 million in fees plus royalties to CLLS,
and there has been announced talks of PFE acquiring CLLS. I am sure the due diligence
of PFE and Servier is thorough for them to commit hundreds of millions of dollars;
their commitments are good enough for me to be persuaded that the science is credible.
Long CLLS
Hi Lawrence-
Have you reviewed the upcoming events at Calyxt lately? 3 in October, 1 in November, 2 in December: http://www.calyxt.com/newsevents/events/ Long CLLS Best-Ben
$CLLS…the alfalfa announcement…interesting for a couple reasons that they have a signed distribution deal for improved alfalfa seeds.
I say this because it is the first time I have heard of the alfalfa target…I’ve heard about potatoes, soybeans, corn, rice, and canola. Then out of nowhere comes an agreement on alfalfa. I take note because it implies a diverse and developed pipeline beyond what they have previously announced. Second, it is not a high-profile feedstock for human consumption, so they may be going after less sensitive feedstocks to gain acceptance.
Third, the profit pyramid is direct and efficient, their agreement is with the distributor of the seed stock.
So far I have been consistently gratified by the announcements coming out of CLLS and Calyxt. The only thing disappointing is the stock price.
F Zhang is the COO of Calyst- Have you seen these Publications from his lab website? http://zlab.mit.edu/publications.html 🙂 – Best-Ben
Took a look, it would be useless for me to read these. I might as well try to read Chaldean pictograms. But I like the international meritocracy of MIT brainy types…
and they seem to have a grip on CRISPR technology as well. Interesting that Zhang is COO and also the kingpin of the MIT think tank.
I checked out S&W Seed, a transcript of their financial report webcast. They are strictly focused on alfalfa. I’m going to check their financials, they would be a small play but they are investable, and may get impressive growth. They seem like a really tightly focused, conservative niche player that has to swim in the same pool with Monsanto and other big time players.
So Calyxt has delegated their stuff to one player in the alfalfa space, S&W, and will run with them.
Seems like the only participants in the webcast were guys from Piper Jaffray, Wedbush, and some other institutions that are following them. They just went public last month.
One thing that came out of the S&W webcast was that the Calyxt improvements to alfalfa are not classed as GMO modifications according to present US guidelines.
Another name from the webcast is Bioceres. This is another seed company that has its foot in the door on plant modifications in less regulated markets, outside the U.S. Don’t know anything about them.
$SANW….S&W SEED COMPANY…as mentioned I like agriculture but have found it difficult to find investments in it that I like.
I saw S&W in connection with their deal with $CLLS. S&W is a microcap, an MC of only $60 million with 13.4 million shares at $ 4.32 yesterday. Annual revenue was $ 80 MM last year, margins are about 20%. SANW recently acquired the alfalfa seed assets of Dupont, so I guess they want to be the big bull in the alfalfa bin. With their recent Dupont acquisition they are expecting good growth, surely double digit. So the market cap is only five times last year’s gross margin.
They are specialists in alfalfa seed. Alfalfa is a major crop grown for animal food,
it is one of the five largest crops worldwide. Who knew. The website is very straightforward and lays out the big picture for animal forage production, which as you can imagine is very exciting…zzzzz….
Anyway, they look good to me. The balance sheet has only 3 million cash but there are nearly 27 MM in receivables, plus they have 25 MM in inventory. Based on their annual sales the inventory should be converted to cash within 3-5 months, depending on how they value it. So the market cap of 60 million is roughly the value of their cash, receivables, and inventory. There are no onerous-looking debts.
S&W seems to be the leader in supplying alfalfa seed worldwide. Their acquisition of the Dupont alfalfa assets and the recent deal with CLLS show a lot of focus and intent on by management to dominate their niche. These guys are very serious about alfalfa !
I’m going to put a few bucks into SANW. No reason the stock couldn’t double or triple in a reasonable time. Those cows up at Ben and Jerry’s gotta eat something and the S&W alfalfa seed is going to have super-high protein content thanks to the CLLS gene modifications.
Oh yeah. SANW… Institutional ownership is 39%, short interest is 7%
$CLLS…Bonus ! Free high-tech agribusiness with purchase of biotech stock !
Biotech company Cellectis announced year-end results. The following summary about its plant science division Calyxt was tucked into the end of the report. I think this division is completely discounted in the value of Cellectis stock, which is selling in the mid-$20 range, near the price of its IPO. Long $CLLS.
Calyxt, Inc. (“Calyxt”)
• March 2016 – Acquisition of land for new headquarters facility. The new facility will
incorporate office space, research labs, green houses as well as land for field trials.
• December 2015 – Confirmation by the USDA that Calyxt’s powdery mildew-resistant
wheat product candidate falls outside the scope of plant regulation.
• December 2015 –Research collaboration and licensing agreement signed with Plant
Bioscience Limited for trait development in wheat, rice and corn. This new
collaboration expands the relationship between Calyxt and Plant Bioscience Limited,
boosts the trait development pipeline at Calyxt for gluten-reduced wheat, and
provides access to traits in two new crops: rice and corn.
• November 2015 – Completion of first field trial of Calyxt’s cold-storable potato product
candidate in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
• November 2015 – Harvest of over one ton of high oleic soybean product candidate,
after completion of second year of field trial.
• July 2015 – Exclusive worldwide license granted to Calyxt by University of Minnesota
under the patent rights of the PCT/US2013/046495 patent family entitled “Gene
Targeting Using Replicating DNA Molecules.”
• July 2015 – Calyxt named among the “50 Smartest Companies in 2015” by MIT
Technology Review.
• June 2015 – New wheat program added to Calyxt’s pipeline. The trait provides
endogenous resistance to powdery mildew of wheat.
• June 2015 – Announcement of alfalfa seed collaboration with S&W Seed Company.
• April 2015 – Confirmation by the USDA that two Calyxt soybean breeds, high oleic
and low linolineic, fall outside the scope of plant regulation.
• April 2015 – Exclusive worldwide license granted to Calyxt by University of Minnesota
under the patent rights of the WO/2014/144155 patent family entitled “Engineering
Plant Genomes Using CRISPR/Cas Systems”.
Ø Calyxt (formerly Cellectis Plant Sciences, Inc.) is positioning its capacities to target a
full scale market launch of its soybean program in 2018.
Ø Power of TALEN® technology would enable development of a new plant trait in as
few as six years from conception to commercialization at a cost of approximately $6
million.
Ø Maintains a strong intellectual property portfolio.
Ø Positioned to become a leader in the agricultural biotechnology space
Dalmunzie Castle (@CastlDalmunzie) 3/14/16, 6:06 PM
Would Cocoa Extract have potential benefit in #Alzheimer’sprevention ? by @PsychCentral https://twitter.com/PsychCentral/status/709436981932007424
Alfalfa Calyst-(I know not potatoes but no need to set up add’l thread 🙂 ): Few Facts & Figures on Alfalfa seed by Calyxt partner S&W Seed Company at ROTH Conference $ALCLS $CLLS- https://t.co/CoSXib2JqO via Biotech Radar
@BiotechRadar Biotech Radar: Anticipate the catalysts of French, Belgian, Dutch Biotechs thanks to our Intelligence on almost 40 companies listed in Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam
France biotechradar.com
$CLLS, #Ag Pew Health @pewhealth 1h1 hour ago
Food safety funding from House appropriators exceeds Obama administration’s FY2017 request: http://pew.org/1NBGMrc #foodsafety
Appropriations Committee Releases the Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture Appropriations Bill
Legislation supports federal programs for rural communities, farmers, and ranchers, maintains food and drug safety, provides food security for those in need http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394490
Bringing nitrogen out to pasture http://scienmag.com/bringing-nitrogen-out-to-pasture/
$CLXT Calyxt IPOed see – https://www.stockgumshoe.com/2016/09/microblog-food-discussion/comment-page-1/#comment-4947119