Yield10 Bioscience: Closes Public Offering (2023/08/16)
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc., an agricultural bioscience firm, has successfully closed its public offering, releasing 5,750,000 units at $0.65 each. Every unit comprises a share of common stock and a warrant to buy another share at the same price. These warrants, valid for five years from their issue date, can be exercised immediately. While the stock shares and warrants were sold together, they were issued separately and can be instantly separated after issuance. The offering generated around $3.7 million in gross proceeds before accounting for fees and expenses.
Yield10 Bioscience: Reports Q2 2023 & H1 Progress (2023/08/15)
Yield10 Bioscience unveiled its financial results for the first half of 2023. Dr. Oliver Peoples, the CEO of Yield10, highlighted the company’s significant strides in commercializing Camelina as a primary crop for producing low-carbon intensity feedstock oil aimed at the biofuel market. The company has been actively engaging with potential stakeholders in the biofuel sector, including Marathon Petroleum and Mitsubishi, aiming to finalize investment and offtake agreements for Camelina oil.
The company has steadfastly supported Camelina growers, expecting to harvest all contracted acres across the U.S. and Canada soon. Dr. Peoples expressed optimism regarding growers’ growing interest in participating in the 2023/2024 winter Camelina grower contracting program. Furthermore, the research team at Yield10 has reported encouraging results from the first field test of stacked herbicide tolerance traits in spring Camelina. This development paves the way for the broader crop adoption for biofuel production. The company is on track to launch its first commercial herbicide-tolerant spring Camelina variety by 2025.
In another significant move, Yield10 requested a Regulatory Status Review (RSR) for Camelina, designed to produce the eicosapentaenoic acid component of omega-3 oil. This initiative could open up vast market opportunities in both animal feed and human nutrition sectors. The company planted omega-3 Camelina in the U.S. during the spring, aiming to increase seed inventory for future planting and produce oil samples for business development activities. Dr. Peoples concluded by emphasizing the company’s focus for the latter half of 2023, which includes securing offtake agreements, advancing herbicide-tolerant and omega-3 Camelina varieties, and enhancing shareholder value.
Recent Achievements and Financial Overview
Yield10 has made commendable progress in executing commercial Camelina grower contracts for biofuel production. The company has completed the first delivery of Camelina grain to a biofuel customer, marking a significant milestone in the biofuel value chain. The company is also in advanced discussions with Marathon Petroleum Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation for potential investment and offtake agreements. On the financial front, Yield10 ended Q2 2023 with $2.3 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, marking a net increase from the previous quarter. The company’s current capital resources are expected to fund its operations into Q4 2023. For Q2 2023, Yield10 reported a net loss of $3.7 million, while the net loss for the first six months of 2023 stood at $7.5 million.
Yield10 Announces Public Offering Pricing (2023/08/12)
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc., an agricultural bioscience firm, has set the price for its public offering of 5,750,000 units at $0.65 each. These units comprise a share of common stock and a warrant to buy another share at the same price, valid for five years. While the stock and warrants are bundled in the purchase, they will be issued separately. The company anticipates gross proceeds of around $3.7 million from this offering, which is slated to conclude by August 15, 2023, pending standard closing conditions.
Yield10 Bioscience: Advancing Herbicide Tolerance in Camelina (2023/08/03)
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: YTEN), an agricultural bioscience company, has achieved a significant milestone in developing stacked herbicide tolerance (HT) traits in Camelina, as announced in the second quarter of 2023. The company’s proprietary stacked HT Camelina varieties demonstrated remarkable tolerance to over-the-top herbicide application for weed control and Group 2 herbicide soil residues. These breakthrough results are expected to drive grower adoption of stacked HT Camelina for the biofuel feedstock market and open up access to acreage previously treated with Group 2 herbicides.
Camelina is a promising crop known for its high oil content, making it a potential source for biofuel production. However, the crop faces challenges in weed management and the persistence of Group 2 herbicides in the soil after application. Yield10’s innovative research and development program aimed at developing Camelina varieties with stacked HT traits promises to overcome these hurdles and drive large-acreage adoption of Camelina in North America.
In the first field test, conducted in the second quarter of 2023, Yield10 researchers tested candidate E3902 spring Camelina lines with stacked HT traits. These traits aimed to confer tolerance to over-the-top broadleaf herbicides and soil residues of Group 2 herbicides, particularly imidazolinones (IMI) and sulfonylureas (SU). The results were striking, as the Camelina lines with stacked HT traits demonstrated high tolerance to both target herbicide chemistries. In contrast, control E3902 Camelina plants without these traits exhibited significant injury when exposed to the same herbicides.
Group 2 herbicides are commonly used for weed management in cereal and other crop rotations but can remain in the soil for months after application, posing challenges for crop growers. The ability of Yield10’s stacked HT Camelina to withstand the effects of these herbicides presents an excellent opportunity for farmers to manage weed control effectively and optimize the utilization of their fields.
As a part of their ongoing research, Yield10 has also developed candidate stacked HT traits in winter Camelina varieties, with field tests planned for the fall of 2023. This expanded development effort demonstrates the company’s commitment to delivering a comprehensive solution for Camelina growers across different seasons.
To pave the way for regulatory approval and commercialization, Yield10 filed a request for Regulatory Status Review (RSR) with the USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) for their stacked herbicide tolerant Camelina. The SECURE Rule, published on May 18, 2020, provides a framework for regulating organisms developed through genetic engineering, allowing for greater precision and reduced regulatory burden.
Kristi Snell, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of Yield10 Bioscience, expressed excitement about the positive field test results, highlighting the significant progress in developing elite herbicide-tolerant Camelina varieties. She emphasized that combining broadleaf weed control and tolerance to Group 2 soil residues would distinguish their Camelina varieties from common types, instilling confidence in large-scale planting among growers.
Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Yield10 Bioscience, highlighted the commercial vision of the company’s Camelina feedstock oil program, aligning well with the biofuel market’s climate impact and sustainability requirements. He noted that the proprietary HT Camelina varieties, including the stacked HT varieties, perfectly fit into cover cropping and crop rotations with other major crops in the U.S. and Canada.
Yield10’s ambitious plan is to launch its first commercial HT Camelina varieties in 2025, followed by the introduction of stacked HT Camelina varieties shortly. These advancements hold great promise for the biofuel industry and are poised to contribute to sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation significantly.
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. is an agricultural bioscience company leveraging its unique “Trait Factory” gene discovery platform to develop improved Camelina varieties for proprietary seed products. The company is also engaged in discovering high-value genetic traits for use in agriculture and the food industry. Yield10 aims to establish a high-value seed products business by developing superior Camelina varieties for feedstock oils, PHA bioplastics, and omega-3 oils (EPA, DHA+EPA). Additionally, they plan to license their yield traits to significant seed companies to commercialize row crops like corn, soybean, and canola.
Image provided by Plants of the World Online
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