Protein-based products manufactured in a Calgary laboratory may help
relieve the discomfort of psoriasis and arthritis.
SemBioSys Genetics Inc., which grew out of University of Calgary
science labs, is manufacturing proteins produced in the seeds of
safflowers.
The company has been multiplying genetically altered safflowers in
southern Alberta for two years.
Plans are to step up production next year as more seed becomes
available.
SemBioSys chief executive officer Andrew Baum says this kind of crop
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production is the wave of the future, with its promise of premiums for
specialty crops.
“This is not a huge acreage opportunity, but it is a very high-value
opportunity for those people,” he said.
“A successful product for us is 2,000-3,000 acres per year.”
SemBioSys grew out of Maurice Moloney’s microbiology work with canola
proteins at the U of C, where he developed an anti-coagulant protein.
It became a separate company in 1994 and opened its lab in northeast
Calgary last summer.
The company employs 58 people in a 2,250 sq. metre facility.
For California-born Baum, the move to Calgary to head SemBioSys holds
promise. He started his career with the genetics company Calgen, which
was taken over by Monsanto in 1997.
While genetically modified organisms have received more than their
share of bad press, Baum is convinced his company’s product can receive
better acceptance than herbicide-tolerant crops.
“This type of production is completely different from anything people
have done before,” he said.
“Our objective is not to sell this to food manufacturers. Our objective
is to have a farmer produce a crop and we will buy it back and we will
process it so it will be an identity preserved production system,” he
said.
“That is a brand new form of agriculture.”
Baum said major mistakes were made during the early days of genetic
modification with products such as herbicide-tolerant oilseeds and
grain.
They were allowed into the general crop mix and some customers rejected
them.
He applauds the tough Canadian regulatory system and said people will
accept GM products if they are beneficial medications for chronic
conditions like arthritis, asthma, skin disorders and cholesterol
lowering drugs.
“We have to grow this under very rigorous, good agronomic practices
with rigorous operating procedures to ensure the entire crop never ends
up in the general mix,” he said.
“We don’t want this to become a deregulated industry. We want
government oversight and that the public is confident that we are doing
this right.”
Potential customers are large drug companies looking for a variety of
pharmaceuticals that can be produced at a lower cost.
However, these kinds of projects remain costly while they are in
development.
Part of Baum’s job has been to raise money. In the last 18 months he
has attracted $17 million in venture capital investments and plans to
garner an equal amount in the next year.
The Alberta venture capital company AVAC recently invested $2.4 million.
Dow Agro Services, University of Calgary and Moloney are major company
shareholders.
Calgary is an unusual location for a biotech company. Most are located
close to major investors and the major universities that specialize in
biotechnology.
The industry’s challenge is to find enough experienced people to
develop these companies.
“The industry is growing by about 12 percent a year so there is a
tremendous demand for the people who have actually done it,” Baum said.
