Botanical Solution Inc. (BSI) is a Davis, CA-based provider of advanced botanical materials and a recognized leader within the agrochemical industry. The company’s first product, ABM-01, is the active ingredient used in the production of their biopesticide Botristop. It is based on a plant native to Chile, named Quillaja saponaria, or, the soap bark tree. BSI successfully launched Botristop with its partner Syngenta in Chile in 2019. 

While the Quillaja saponaria tree isn’t endangered, it is subject to strict deforestation laws so its supply in nature is limited, according to Gaston Salinas, CEO of BSI. “To overcome this challenge, we developed a novel platform to produce the soap bark tree in vitro using scalable tissue culture techniques that create ingredients at high purity and consistency, and at a low cost,” he said.

While having lunch with a friend who happened to work in the pharmaceutical industry, Salinas realized that BSI’s techniques could also provide value in the life sciences sector. “It was something we discovered by accident and since then we’ve been focusing on this new business opportunity,” he said.

QS-21 vaccine adjuvant
The Quillaja saponaria tree is the source of a highly purified product derived from the tree’s bark. It’s called QS-21 and is used as an adjuvant in subunit vaccines to help boost immunity. Adjuvants help the effectiveness of the active in a vaccine.

QS-21 is currently used in several COVID-19 vaccine candidates, among other vaccine candidates with broader target diseases in different stages of development. It is being studied for its capacity to enhance immune responses against influenza, malaria, hepatitis B virus, human papillomavirus, HIV, and tuberculosis vaccines as well as immunological strategies against lung cancer and malignant melanoma.

However, because of its limited supply due to the deforestation laws in Chile and high manufacturing costs, QS-21 is very expensive. “Current costs per gram are between $400,000 to $500,000,” said Salinas.

As a result of BSI’s proprietary technique for extracting this human immune system activator when the trees are in vitro, the company says its scalable process can meet worldwide demand for QS-21 right from its own laboratories. More importantly, it can do so without harming any trees—and at a much lower cost.

Moving forward, BSI plans to become a major supplier of pharmaceutical grade QS-21 to address the serious challenges presented by the imminent shortage of this key vaccine adjuvant, according to Salinas.

“Our in-lab growth capabilities for Quillaja saponaria plants using biotechnology processes could potentially produce billions of doses of the ‘Gold Standard’ adjuvant QS-21,” he said. “BSI is well-positioned to become the industry’s most reliable and cost-effective supplier of GMP quality QS-21 worldwide.”  

For more information visit BSI at www.botanical-solution.com