BioHarvest Sciences Inc ( NASDAQ:BHST , FRA:8MV0 ) said on Tuesday that Olive Cell, an olive-derived plant-cell ingredient, is ready for commercial licensing, the second product from its Botanical Synthesis technology to reach that stage.
The company said Olive Cell has completed large-scale bioreactor scale-up, manufacturing readiness and a self-affirmed U.S. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) process.
Olive Cell will be offered through BioHarvest's contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business.
BioHarvest said its GMP manufacturing facility can begin commercial production once a customer or partner is signed, in line with that party's requirements and timing.
"This Olive Cell milestone is important because it demonstrates the full power of our business model," said CEO Zaki Rakib.
"We used our Botanical Synthesis technology to create a proprietary asset, scaled it to industrial manufacturing and completed the regulatory work required for commercialization...This is the model we intend to repeat across our growing portfolio of proprietary assets."
Olive Cell is a standardized olive fruit cell powder derived from Olea europaea. Its primary polyphenol is Verbascoside, a hydroxytyrosol derivative. BioHarvest said the powder contains Verbascoside at higher and more consistent levels than natural olive fruit or conventional extracts. The company sees potential uses in nutraceuticals, functional nutrition and cosmetics.
BioHarvest's first commercialized plant-cell compound, VINIA, is derived from red grapes. The company said it plans to pursue licensing, manufacturing, royalties, co-development and, in some cases, ownership participation across its portfolio of proprietary assets.
BioHarvest previously reported preliminary in-vitro results in two liver-cell models relevant to fatty liver disease. Olive Cell reduced lipid accumulation by up to 37% versus controls in one model and collagen type I accumulation by up to 50% in the other, with both effects dose-dependent.
The company said the in-vitro results do not establish efficacy in humans. It said published research on Verbascoside has explored cognitive, joint, cardiovascular, metabolic and skin health, but described those areas as potential development opportunities and not established benefits of Olive Cell.
Shares of BioHarvest were up around 6.8% on Tuesday afternoon in New York.
