Renaissance BioScience has been awarded a research grant funded by Genome BC.
The grant is valued at $550,000 and will be valid for 24 months.
The project, conducted in partnership with Dr Vivien Measday at the University of British Columbia, will build a large, proprietary library of wild yeast strains and aims to accelerate the discovery and commercialisation of natural yeast species for a wide variety of high-value industrial applications.
In the first phase of the project the pair will aim to characterise more than 700 natural yeast strains.
Strains with desirable attributes will be selected for advanced genomics analysis and results will be integrated into a searchable database to enable rapid identification of strains with commercially valuable traits.
The project will also generate large genomic and phenotypic datasets that can be leveraged by AI tools to accelerate new strain and technology discovery.
Dr John Husnik, co-CEO and CSO of Renaissance BioScience, said: "This project represents a major strategic investment in building a long-term yeast discovery and commercialisation platform."
By combining our industrial expertise with the Measday Lab’s world-class research infrastructure, we are creating a scalable engine for identifying and validating high-performance yeast strains that can have important industrial applications and drive multiple future revenue streams.
Through its partnership with Dr Measday, the company states that it will gain access to specialised robotic screening systems, sequencing coordination and advanced analytical infrastructure for bioprospecting high‑value yeast strains.
The project will initially focus on identifying yeast strains that can valorise waste substrates, converting low‑value byproducts and waste streams into high‑value industrial compounds.
Using high‑throughput screening, the team will rapidly evaluate strains to identify those best suited to specific waste streams.
The most promising candidates will be prioritised for their ability to convert these materials into value-added molecules such as enzymes, biosurfactants, emulsifiers and nutraceuticals, with applications across food, specialised nutrition, agriculture, energy and broader industrial markets.
According to Renaissance BioScience, the bioprospecting initiative has already generated strong interest from potential commercial partners and academic collaborators, reflecting growing market recognition of the platform’s strategic value.
"With this initiative, we are not developing a single product," Husnik added.
Instead, we are building a permanent, data-driven yeast discovery platform that enhances our competitive position, strengthens Renaissance’s intellectual property position and creates repeatable pathways to commercialisation.