Industrialisation has frequently relied on chemical solutions to address biological problems. This is particularly relevant in three of the world’s biggest industries: our ability to grow and protect food, the need to defend our livestock against disease and the necessity to safeguard human health.
Such chemical solutions have often aggravated environmental and biodiversity challenges – notably in the food supply chain. However, innovative developments in bioscience are poised to transform these industries in an environmentally meaningful way.
As portfolio managers in the environmental sector, our interaction with business leaders helps us keep up to date with the latest trends, innovation and growth opportunities in the environmental space. Our Uncapped Impact Series aims to share the insights we gain from these conversations.
In this latest edition, we delve into the realm of bioscience with Dr. Andrey Zarur, the CEO and Co-Founder of GreenLight Biosciences, to better understand how biology can be used to address some of humanity’s biggest challenges.
Using biological solutions to tackle biological problems
A fundamental starting point for the company was to challenge whether petrochemicals are needed so frequently to deal with biological processes. Reliance on petrochemicals seems counter-intuitive when biology can offer sustainable, clean and effective solutions. Andrey says, “We started GreenLight Biosciences as a means to create a platform where we could develop biological solutions to deal with the many biological problems that we face as a species, which of course include growing food, combating disease, preserving the environment and promoting biodiversity.”
The journey has been long and arduous. Andrey tells us that in order to use biology to produce an insecticide, for example, you have to really understand what is needed at both a molecular and genetic level. Those materials then need to be scaled in an affordable manner.
The RNA challenge
Ribonucleic acid, commonly known as RNA, is the key to their approach. RNA serves as the translator or messenger that interprets the genetic code for every living organism on the planet and tells them what to do and how to behave. Andrey explains, “it’s actually the director that tells life how to form, how to thrive, how to grow. And so, the ability to use RNA in a biological process gives you exquisite control over that particular life form.”
Science has known for decades that RNA could be used to provide effective biological solutions – such as controlling pests– but the challenge has been to make it inexpensive and widely available. According to Andrey, when GreenLight Biosciences started, RNA cost thousands of dollars per gram because it was made chemically, meaning RNA-based solutions for agriculture were never going to be viable at that price.
Andrey and his team took up this challenge and after eight years of rigorous scientific research found a way to produce RNA at scale. The discoveries that made their work possible was a game changer. He says, “All of a sudden you have something that is as effective as a chemical, as inexpensive as a chemical and can be produced at the same scale.”
Reducing food loss
Food production was their first challenge, and this could not be timelier. About 1.2 billion tons of food is lost on farms, which contributes to 2.2 Gtons of greenhouse gas emissions, but demand for food is rising thanks to the growing global population, while the war in Ukraine has created food security issues and stoked inflation for crop staples such as wheat.
A simple way to address this challenge is to reduce food loss. 40% of food production is wasted each year due to pests, fungi, pathogens, etc. Better protection for food sources, that have fewer unintended environmental side-effects than current chemically-based solutions, would have a profound impact on biodiversity, climate change and food supplies.
Andrey outlines how a new generation of RNA-based pest control methods will not only promote food security but do so in a way that is sustainable, clean and good for the environment. He says, “Not only are we stopping pests from eating the food, but we are designing to preserve biodiversity so that the land can continue to be productive for generations to come.”
RNA precision
The advantage of RNA over chemistry is that it can be extremely specific and designed to stop the fundamental processes of the pests themselves, while designed to be harmless to all of the other insects and biodiversity that live in the same environment – such as all-important pollinators. Andrey explains, “It operates at a molecular level, and we can tailor the signals to be incredibly precise and just stop the pest that we’re interested in stopping and nothing else.”
An additional advantage is resistance. As the planet becomes warmer, many fungi are becoming increasingly resistant to chemical fungicides. However, RNA solutions will provide a new tool that can be directed at an unlimited number of new targets. Andrey says, “Not only is it safe and effective, it’s also compatible with everything farmers are used to doing. The farmer can use it in the tractor just like they use any other chemical. Except it’s not a chemical, it’s biological.”
Andrey believes that eventually all the chemicals in our food supply could be replaced by biological solutions – fertilisers, plants and stimulants and so on – that are all highly specific and sustainable.
Human health and beyond
RNA will not just be transformative for food production. Andrey forecasts that this technology will be used for just about every major category of human activity.
Most recognisably, RNA was the technique used to rapidly create Covid vaccines, but vaccines to protect against other infectious diseases and illnesses, such as cancer, are also being developed. RNA-based therapeutics are also in the pipeline, which could have a dramatic impact on chronic and genetic disorders. Andrey predicts, “RNA will be as important a category in human health as protein therapeutics or gene therapies. It will be one of the major categories of human health products over the next decade.”
This technology will not only advance human health, but can also be broadly used in animal welfare, from protecting cattle to combatting household pests – the potential is infinite.
Need for patient funding
In order for bioscience solutions to achieve its potential in addressing the planet’s many urgent problems, additional financing is required, and asset management has an important role to play. As Andrey states, “the solutions we are trying to bring to market are needed now.”
He recognises that the financing needed for his company has to be patient and long-term in nature, as the fundamental changes to the way we grow food and provide food security globally are not going to happen overnight. He says, “We wish it could happen in a quarter. But the reality not only necessitates a brand-new science to be invented, it also requires a fundamental change in behaviour globally. This is something that we are trying to affect over years, if not decades. And so, we need investors that are deeply aligned with the long-term value creation that these new breakthrough solutions can bring to the market.”
Andrey believes that the asset management industry and capital markets, can play an important role in fighting climate change not only by providing the necessary operating capital, but also by offering other investors a valuable vote of confidence. And while he recognises that being profitable matters to such investors, so does the ability to demonstrate measurable impact. Like many investors these days, he admits to not wanting his “money going to something that is going to perform for the next quarter but may sacrifice my children’s future.”
Like GreenLight Biosciences, we are working towards a future where everyone has food to eat, access to medicine and the ability to live in a world with peace and harmony. This is why we are continuing to seek out those impactful companies supporting ecosystems through the creation of clean, sustainable solutions to the world’s problems. Such companies have the potential to affect real change and save lives, and by supporting them we are proud to be a fundamental part of that journey.
Disclaimer
Companies mentioned herein, are for illustrative purpose only, are not intended as solicitation of the purchase of such securities, and do not constitute any investment advice or recommendation.
