Algae-C is a biosynthetic company using algae to produce cannabinoids. Founder and President Dr. Mather Carscallen emphasizes the superiority of algae as a chassis because it can be grown in a variety of ways and is not dependent on specific inputs for growth. In addition, algae have an abundance of the natural precursors to grow cannabinoids, unlike yeast and bacteria. Dr. Carscallen also highlights the usefulness of algae waste products as a super food because it produces high levels of Omega 3, protein, vitamins, and minerals. He reveals that the company is undertaking commercial growth trials this summer and plans to achieve commercial scale production of cannabinoids by Q1 or Q2 2020. Many at Algae-C, including Dr. Carscallen, have significant experience producing algae at a commercial scale in the alternative fuels industry. While Dr. Carscallen believes there will always be a purist market for products derived from plant material, he suggests that biosynthetic cannabinoids will be a game changer for the space from a consistency, quality, and price perspective.
Transcript:
James West: I’m joined now by Dr. Mather Carscallen. He is the President and founder of Algae-C Inc. Mather, welcome to the show.
Mather Carscallen: Thanks very much.
James West: Mather, let’s start with an overview: what is it, exactly, that Algae-C does?
Mather Carscallen: So we’re a biosynthetic cannabinoid company, and as our name states, we produce biosynthetic cannabinoids using algae.
James West: Does that mean that you can use algae to grow plants?
Mather Carscallen: So for argument’s sake, algae are like microscopic plants. So we’re basically taking the genes from cannabis plants and we’re putting them in the algae so that they produce cannabinoids.
James West: And so what cannabinoids can be produced? Which ones can’t be produced, or is there any such limitation?
Mather Carscallen: There’s not really a limitation. The only limitation is just the time and energy needed to perfect the actual gene insertions and finding the strain of algae that will produce it in the quantities and quality that you’re looking for.
James West: Okay, and why algae? I mean, others are trying to develop biosynthetic cannabinoids on yeast and bacteria, for example; what attracts you to algae?
Mather Carscallen: Right. So I mean, you can really start to see the superiority of algae when you break it down into kind of three steps. So I mean, you’ve got your inputs, your nutrients; then you’ve got the organism itself; and th