Nexus Agriscience deepens molecular farming push with Biotech Institute IP acquisition

Nexus Agriscience expanded its molecular farming platform in January after acquiring the hemp division intellectual property portfolio of Biotech Institute, a move designed to bring core genetics and research capabilities in-house as the company targeted new natural ingredient markets.

• Nexus Agriscience acquired Biotech Institute’s hemp intellectual property portfolio, including issued and pending utility and plant patents, genetic materials, and seed inventory.

• The acquisition integrated core genetics and research capabilities into Nexus’ molecular farming platform for flavor, fragrance, and functional ingredients.

• The company reported serving a US$37 billion addressable market and planned expansion into beverage, specialty ingredient, and commodity chemical sectors.

The Livermore, California-based company reported that the transaction strengthened its patent position around genetic pathways and proprietary germplasm used to drive predictable expression of high-value compounds across the primary terpene classes found within the cannabis genome. Nexus said ownership of the portfolio supported continued investment in its molecular farming approach, which uses engineered hemp plants to produce non-cannabinoid natural ingredients at commercial scale.

“This acquisition expanded our platform and removed critical constraints,” said Shareef El-Sissi, CEO of Nexus Agriscience. “By bringing core genetics and R&D in-house, we could move faster into new markets while maintaining the capital efficiency and scalability that define our approach. The cannabis plant is the most prolific natural producer of flavor and fragrance compounds, and this portfolio gave us the tools to express those compounds predictably and at commercial scale.”

Nexus described itself as operating at the intersection of precision agriculture, plant science, and commercial-scale manufacturing, with a focus on supplying plant-based solutions for flavor, fragrance, wellness, and functional ingredient markets. The company reported an addressable market of US$37 billion and said it planned to engineer hemp plants to produce alternatives to synthetic additives, including petroleum-based chemicals used in food and consumer products.

According to the company, hemp offered a carbon negative alternative to incumbent supply chains while enabling the production of complex natural compounds through open-field agriculture rather than controlled industrial infrastructure.

Dr Mark Lewis, one of the key inventors listed on the acquired patents, said the portfolio represented years of foundational work in genomics, chemistry, and breeding. “Hemp is an extraordinarily powerful biosynthetic platform when engineered with precision, turning plants into factories,” Lewis said. “This portfolio distilled years of genomic, chemical, and breeding work into predictable expression of high-value compounds, accelerating the transition from fundamental science to scalable manufacturing.”

Nexus positioned its hemp-based molecular farming platform as a capital-efficient alternative to precision fermentation, particularly for complex natural molecules. Unlike fermentation systems that require significant upfront investment in bioreactors and tightly controlled production environments, the company said its approach had already been demonstrated across hundreds of acres, enabling faster deployment, lower capital expenditure, and greater flexibility in responding to market demand.

The company reported that its production model allowed vertical control from genetics through downstream processing, with an emphasis on chemical fidelity and stability. Nexus said it currently produced one hundred percent non-cannabinoid hemp-derived ingredients used in flavoring and functional applications for cannabis consumer packaged goods, with expansion underway into functional beverages, specialty natural ingredients, and commodity chemical markets.

Following completion of the transaction, Nexus integrated Biotech Institute’s hemp-related operations and intellectual property, including issued and pending patents, living plant materials, seed inventory, and technical expertise. As part of the deal, Gary Hiller of Biotech Institute joined Nexus’ board of directors, while Dr. Mark Lewis and Steven Haba joined the company to lead genetic development and operational execution.

Nexus was founded in 2019 as Terpene Belt Farms and expanded its scope in 2025 before beginning operations under the Nexus Agriscience name. The company said the acquisition marked a significant step in consolidating its capabilities across agriculture, chemistry, and regulatory expertise as it sought to bring plant-derived ingredients to global markets at commercial scale.