A suite of technology initiatives will form a key pillar of an Australian firm’s plans to grow the business as it prepares to launch a capital raise on crowdfunding platform Birchal.
The company, Byron Bay Bio, is looking to raise A$1.5 million from the campaign, with the company also eyeing the registration of a CBD muscle balm with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
It’s non-alcoholic, hemp-infused beer brand, Mary Jane, will also be launched in Australia.
Other Byron Bay Bio interests, including flower and rosin brand Pheno Hunts, are focused on the US recreational market.
While the company was founded by father-and-son duo Adrian and Will Stolk – the latter better known for his cannabis activism in Australia – the tech advancements are being led by former defence and aerospace scientist Jeff Lang, Byron Bay Bio’s chief executive.
The trio of initiatives involve the ability for cultivators to patent seeds, the testing of cannabis to check the accuracy of labelling, and the creation of a hand-held device to be used in locations such as dispensaries – or even by illicit users at home – to test the ingredients of their cannabis.
Lang said the company is working on a Victoria-based project to design a sophisticated technology that is able to test the DNA genome sequencing of a seed, which can then be patented.
“It uses very high-level applied science to look at the DNA sequencing of cannabis plants, and what is significant about this is that genotyping doesn’t lie,” he said.
He said the current system of protecting the uniqueness of seeds was “shockingly bad”.
“It talks about what the visual characteristics of the seed are. Does it have any marks on it? What is the colour?
“But in order to patent them, you have to have a level of novelty, what differentiates one seed from another. And we can do that with DNA sequencing. Someone gives us a typical seed strain, we get some of the flower, isolate it and run it through a series of screening and testing to determine the DNA of that particular seed variety. It’s a service we will [provide] in a very sophisticated way.”
Lang added: “We believe it will protect the industry from the big boys who everyone knows are going to come in and swallow up the cannabis industry. Introducing this IP around the seeds is going to restrict that to a certain point.”
Meanwhile, Byron Bay Bio will aim to lodge a dossier with the TGA in a bid to register its CBD sports balm as an over-the-counter S3 product.
Lang said the company has already gathered a body of research to demonstrate its efficacy, but acknowledged the regulator will require further clinical research for an OTC registration to be successful.
He said the firm will partner with experts in the field of TGA registration to get the product across the line.
The crowdfunding offer through Birchal was due to kick off in the next couple of days, but has been delayed until next week due to changes in director shareholdings.