Renew Biopharma Announces Landmark Patent in Cannabinoid Biosynthesis; CEO to Speak Today at SynBioBeta

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Renew Biopharma, a pre-clinical startup drug company developing new, proprietary small molecules to improve human health — focused particularly on neurotherapeutics — today announced a new landmark patent covering the extensive enzyme engineering of the key step for the production of cannabinoids and cannabinoid derivatives using microbial biosynthesis.

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Renew Biopharma CEO and Co-Founder Michael Mendez (Photo: Business Wire)

This key step is governed by the enzyme that produces CBGA, the precursor to most cannabinoids, including THC and CBD.

The new patent breaks up what was recently cited in Nature as “the log jam” to large-scale microbial cannabinoid biosynthesis. While other cannabinoid biosynthesis companies have employed enzymes derived from the Cannabis plant, their plant-derived enzymes are sub-optimal for microbial production.

Renew, on the other hand, has adopted a novel enzyme from a bacterial origin and has engineered it to outperform the plant enzymes by orders of magnitude. Renew has created more than 300 proprietary variant enzymes (patent doc. WO2019183152) to support best-in-class biosynthesis of both major and minor cannabinoids, as well as cannabinoid derivatives. Renew has used these enzymes to create multiple early drug leads for neurotherapeutics.

Renew also announced that its CEO and co-founder, Michael Mendez, will speak at SynBioBeta 2019 today at 1:30 p.m. (PDT) about Renew’s progress not only with the new patent, but about its work developing a pipeline of novel cannabinoid molecules for neurotherapeutics. Renew’s proprietary technology modifies the cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway by way of synthetic biology and rational enzyme engineering to develop an immense pipeline of cannabinoid derivatives that cross the blood brain barrier and engage specific receptors (not CB1/CB2) in the brain to decrease neuroinflammation.

Said Mendez: “Our new patent describes a technology that overcomes the greatest hurdle that has hindered the cost-effective production of cannabinoids at large scale in microbes. Not only will our novel enzymes enable production of natural cannabinoids like CBD, but they unlock the space to produce thousands of minor and unnatural cannabinoid derivatives. This is a true breakthrough.”

Renew Biopharma (www.RenewBiopharma.com) focuses its work on neuroinflammation pathologies and chronic pain management. Based in San Diego, Renew’s novel molecules are derivatives of cannabinoid molecules that naturally cross the blood-brain barrier. The company develops its molecules in the lab without relying on the use of Cannabis plants. The company’s portfolio of intellectual property includes more than 40 assigned and issued patents, including dominating intellectual property to control key enzymes for biosynthesis and improvement of cannabinoid molecules in microbes.

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