Willow Biosciences Inc., a biotechnology company focused on industrial manufacturing of pure, consistent, and sustainable ingredients, announced signing a commercial license and royalty agreement with Kalsec, Inc., a global producer of natural taste and sensory, food protection, colors and advanced hops ingredients for the food and beverage industry. The agreement defines the financial terms for use of Willow's technology for scaling and manufacturing of a natural ingredient that adds to Kalsec's portfolio for use in savory food applications.

Through this commercial license and royalty agreement, Willow expects to receive milestone payments for the first pilot and industrial batches followed by tiered royalty payments on net worldwide sales after launch. Kalsec will be responsible for regulatory, manufacturing, and sales and marketing costs. The natural ingredient resulting from this collaboration will allow Kalsec to pursue a larger market share in an existing $200M global segment. Willow expects the research and development phase of the agreement to be completed in 2024 with regulatory and scale-up work to continue into 2025.

"We are excited to see our technology platform continue to deliver with the transition of yet another research program to commercial reality" said Dr. Chris Savile, Willow's president & CEO. "Beyond the commercial benefits to both Willow and Kalsec under this agreement, we are proud to be partnering with an ingredient leader like Kalsec to bring safer, more sustainable natural products to consumers."

Dr. Roger Nahas, Kalsec's chief innovation officer said "we remain strongly committed to the sustainability and innovation benefits of bioconversion to generate affordable, effective, and safe natural solutions to savory foods' toughest ingredient needs and challenges. We are very proud and excited to continue working with Willow and their talented and capable team."