Rothamsted Research grants Yield10 license to technology for producing omega-3 products in camelina

Yield10 Bioscience Inc. announced June 17 that U.K.-based Rothamsted Research Ltd. has granted to the company an exclusive global, commercial license to advanced technology for producing sustainable omega-3 products in camelina.

Yield10 is executing a plan to use engineered camelina to commercially produce omega-3 oil and meal products targeting the aquafeed, petfood and nutritional markets for omega-3 fatty acids.

In consideration for the commercial license, Yield10 is expected to pay certain license fees, future milestone payments and royalties based on commercialization of Rothamsted’s omega-3 technology.

Producing omega-3 fatty acids in engineered camelina may represent a way to enable a predictable, land-based supply of high-quality omega-3 oils to meet the growing global demand for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Currently, the primary source of EPA and DHA is ocean-caught fish, where omega-3 oil produced from anchovy harvest is the industry benchmark.

Over the past few years, there has been increasing pressure on the supply of omega-3 oil due to over-fishing.

The potential market opportunity for omega-3 fatty acids produced in camelina includes use in pharmaceutical (ethyl-EPA) products, dietary supplements and food and feed ingredients.

“Over the last three years, the Yield10 team has provided us with expertise and support as our team has advanced the development of engineered camelina from field testing to planting at multiacre scale to produce omega-3 oil,” said Angela Karp, Rothamsted director and CEO. “Yield10’s innovations and capabilities in camelina are impressive and successful commercialization of this technology could have significant benefits, offering sustainable production of an oil essential for nutrition and wellness to consumers, as well as providing crop diversification to growers. We look forward to the commercialization of omega-3 oil and meal products by Yield10 in the years ahead.”

Oliver Peoples, president and CEO of Yield10 Bioscience, added, “Enabled by the Rothamsted technology, we are on a promising path to commercializing elite omega-3 producing varieties of camelina that combine good agronomics in the field while also producing high-value, high-purity omega-3 oils possessing very attractive economics. In 2024, we are positioned to execute on the scale-up of omega-3-producing camelina and to submit key regulatory filings with the goal of being ready for an initial commercial launch into the oil and meal markets. We also look forward to improving the current camelina varieties over time particularly with the deployment of herbicide tolerance and other performance traits.”

In late 2020, Yield10 began a collaboration with Rothamsted to support Rothamsted’s flagship program to develop omega-3 oils in camelina.

The advanced technology developed by Rothamsted enables the sustainable, plant-based production of omega-3 nutritional oils in camelina.

Over the past decade, the Rothamsted team led by Johnathan Napier, the company’s science director, has demonstrated the production of omega-3 oils in camelina seed and conducted evaluations of the oils in salmon feeding and human clinical studies to demonstrate lipid-lowering effects.