Hemp & Cannabis Innovation
22nd Century’s integrated plant science platform quickly and accurately develops and produces hemp/cannabis plants with valuable cannabinoid profiles and desirable agronomic traits for life science, consumer product, and pharmaceutical end-use markets.
Continued acceptance of and demand for hemp/cannabis in the U.S. and other markets require knowledge of hemp/cannabis genetics to be on par with that of other major crops. At present, it’s not even close. For example, tailoring plant genetics for large-scale hemp/cannabis production is in its infancy. Growers require stable, consistent, and predictable plant lines to scale commercial production to meet demand. 22nd Century’s revolutionary plant science platform can address this issue and resolve others to meet the needs and challenges of this rapidly expanding market.
In 2014, 22nd Century entered into a global research, licensing, IP, and commercialization agreement with Anandia Laboratories, Canada, that pushed it to the forefront of hemp/cannabis/cannabinoid research. Aurora Cannabis acquired Anandia in 2018, continuing and deepening the initial collaboration.
Since 2019, 22nd Century has built an integrated network of strategic partnerships/acquisitions that work together to create a nimble, self-reinforcing, constantly evolving engine of innovation and production. CannaMetrix provides a breakthrough technology that assesses the effects of hemp/cannabis components on human cells. KeyGene’s expertise in bioinformatics and molecular genetics helps us to pinpoint and accurately change the genetics of specific plant traits to suit market needs. Extractas Bioscience and others assist our commercial-scale plant breeding and cultivation of disruptive, new plant lines. Our newly acquired subsidiary, GVB Biopharma, enables scalable extraction, purification, and packaging of valuable cannabinoids and terpenes.
22nd Century now controls the most comprehensive and innovative upstream cannabinoid value chain in the industry. As growing global legalization and commercialization draw in more competitors from the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and consumer product industries, our unique hemp/cannabis development engine will keep us at the forefront of this emerging industry. Our ability to accelerate the delivery of valuable, commercial-scale plant lines and IP in two-year cycles is the core of 22nd Century’s value proposition. We began to monetize our lines and IP in the second half of 2021 with upfront license fees from our Aurora IP partnership and revenue from the entire 2021 crop on our Colorado farm property. Starting in 2022, we are continuing to deploy our next-generation plant lines in 2023 (and beyond) to satisfy the emerging needs of commercial customers and to generate revenue from these novel strains.