Nexus Agriscience, a molecular farming company focused on plant-based solutions for flavor, fragrance, and functional ingredient markets, said it has acquired the intellectual property assets of Biotech Institute’s hemp division, adding genetics and research capabilities that it says will accelerate expansion into new natural-ingredient markets.
The company said the acquired portfolio includes issued and pending utility and plant patents, proprietary germplasm, living plant materials, seed inventory, and specialized technical expertise, and that the assets have been integrated into Nexus following the close. Nexus said the patents protect genetic pathways and germplasm, enabling the predictable expression of high-value compounds across primary terpene classes within the cannabis genome, strengthening its intellectual property position and supporting continued investment in its molecular farming platform.
Nexus positions hemp as a scalable biosynthetic platform for producing non-cannabinoid, hemp-derived natural ingredients for B2B partners, with vertical control spanning from genetics to downstream processing. The company said it is engineering hemp plants to produce plant-based alternatives to synthetic additives, including petroleum-based chemicals used in the food supply, and highlighted hemp’s potential carbon profile relative to incumbent supply chains.
The company also framed its hemp-based approach as a capital-efficient alternative to precision fermentation for complex natural compounds, arguing that fermentation systems often require significant bioreactor infrastructure and capital investment, while its agricultural model is already proven at hundreds-of-acres scale, enabling faster deployment, lower capital expenditure, and quicker response to market demand.
As part of the transaction, Nexus said Gary Hiller of Biotech Institute will join its board of directors, while Dr. Mark Lewis and Steven Haba will join the company to lead genetic development and operational execution. Nexus said it was founded in 2019 as Terpene Belt Farms and expanded its scope in 2025, operating as Nexus Agriscience following the acquisition of Biotech Institute’s hemp division.
KEY QUOTES
“This acquisition expands our platform and removes critical constraints,” said Shareef El-Sissi, CEO of Nexus Agriscience. “By bringing core genetics and R&D in-house, we can 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 gives us the tools to express those compounds predictably and at commercial scale.”
Shareef El-Sissi, CEO, Nexus Agriscience
“Hemp is an extraordinarily powerful biosynthetic platform when engineered with precision turning plants into factories. This portfolio distills years of genomic, chemical, and breeding work into predictable expression of high-value compounds, accelerating the transition from fundamental science to scalable manufacturing.”
Dr. Mark Lewis, Key inventor on the acquired patents
