June 18, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Boston-based GreenLight Biosciences develops sustainable solutions for some of the world’s most challenging issues through RNA-driven products for agriculture and life sciences applications.

RNA is the oldest molecule on the planet that controls the biological processes of all living things. And while RNA-based products in relation to plant and life sciences have been in existence for a while, it has not been until now that they are commercially viable, thanks to GreenLight’s breakthrough of being able to rapidly and affordably produce RNA at scale through its novel cell-free GreenWorx bioproduction platform.

This platform is capable of producing RNA sequences of exceptional fidelity in a fully-scalable fashion, and at a lower cost than other platforms, all done in an environmentally-friendly, sustainable manner.

Andrey Zarur, co-founder and CEO of GreenLight Biosciences, explained to GAI News in a interview last week that the products developed by the company do not involve genetic modification, but rather target unwanted pests to a competitive level of control and cost competitiveness, but do it in a much safer and sustainable way. 

“Cell-free bioproduction was a critical breakthrough in making RNA-based pest controls commercially viable. Most pesticides sprayed on crops today kill not only the target pest, but also many non-target pollinators and beneficial insects,” Zarur told GAI News. 

“Consider that in just one acre of farmland there are approximately 10 million individual insects, but just a tiny percentage of these bugs will eat your crop. Yet so many of them are impacted with today’s conventional methods.”

This work has attracted the attention of top-tier investors, as is evident by the company’s announcement that it has secured $102 million through an oversubscribed Series D led by Morningside Ventures. 

Other high profile investors participating in the round included S2G Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, Fall Line Capital, Continental Grain Company, Tao Capital Partners, Baird Capital, MLS Capital Fund II, Lewis and Clark AgriFood, and Lupa Systems. 

“GreenLight Biosciences is developing revolutionary new solutions that work with nature, not against it,” said Matt Walker, managing director,  S2G Ventures. “We are excited to continue to support this excellent team’s growth as they bring their pipeline of safe, sustainable products that actually work to farmers who need them and expand their impact into new industries.”

Not only is GreenLight making RNA solutions more available, they are doing it more affordably too. The company explains that typically the cost of RNA for the development of agricultural biocontrols has ranged from $100 – $10,000 per gram. However, GreenLight’s patented, cell-free bioprocessing platform can produce targeted RNA products at a significantly lower price point, making commercialization a reality.

Zarur explained to GAI News, “RNA molecules are typically synthesized using fermentation in vats of living microbes, which has challenges with purity, cost, energy, and scalability. GreenLight’s cell-free bioproduction platform overcomes these challenges by breaking down RNA from low-cost yeast and rebuilding them into targeted RNA enzymes. With this approach, enzymes don’t require energy to work; cells regenerate the necessary energy.”

“GreenLight Biosciences’ manufacturing technology can address critical pain points for RNA supply in both agriculture and human health,” said Jason Dinges, Morningside Ventures. “RNA-based products represent an opportunity for innovation in both human therapeutics as well as safe, environmentally-friendly crop protection, and we are excited to partner with GreenLight’s expert team to deliver them at scale to patients and farmers alike.”

As Dinges mentioned, GreenLight’s technology has potential not only for agriculture, but in life sciences too through enabling better treatment of diseases where therapies are ineffective or limited. This extends to opening up the ability to produce RNA-based vaccines and gene therapies at the scale required to address public health.

This Series D follows a $17 million special purpose round secured by the company in May of this year to accelerate the large-scale manufacturing of future COVID-19 vaccines using GreenLight’s proprietary messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.

The company will also be using the capital raised to accelerate the development and commercialization of its pipeline of biopesticides that target the Colorado Potato Beetle, an invasive pest that destroys potato crops, expected to launch in 2022.

However, this is just the first in an expected pipeline of products, noted Zarur, telling GAI News, “…many new pesticide candidates are in the works. Our cell-free bioproduction accelerates the process of getting new products into the market. If the genome of a pest is mapped, GreenLight can quickly design an RNAi sequence to impact that specific pest.” 

“GreenLight was born from a passion to make our world more sustainable and more equitable,” said Zarur in a recent statement announcing GreenLight’s Series D.  “We are honored to draw the support of this notable group of new and existing investors as we drive forward our dual mission to make food production more robust and environmentally respectful; and our health solutions applicable to every member of the human race.”

He continued, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to provide bio-based solutions for plant health, human health and animal health, and to make those solutions affordable and accessible.”

“We’re delighted to support GreenLight Biosciences’ efforts to build a unique natural platform in human health and agriculture,” added Frederic Michel, partner, Lupa Systems. “We look forward to working with this impressive team, helping them deploy scientifically rigorous solutions in regions across the world.”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.