Easalid is focused on growing transgenic trees that generate products highly valued in the flavor and fragrance industries. It also studies the plant biochemical pathways for medicinals used in cancer treatment.
Co-founder Norman Lewis, a faculty member at Washington State University, began his scientific career as a natural product chemist. His interests soon turned toward the biochemistry of plants.
Easalid has proposed a test program in which hundreds of genetically modified poplar trees would be planted along the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico. Poplar and red alder, another fast-growing plant, produce the aromatic molecules present in rose oil and the oil of cloves, which in turn are widely used in foods, candy, flavored teas and drinks, lotions, soaps and powders.
Of particular clinical interest is the study of molecules derived from phenylalanine, an amino acid not made by the human body. Phenylalanine can be converted into the structural material called lignin, which enables plants to stand upright. Using synthetic biology, Easalid is studying enzymes in the hopes of circumventing developmental steps so that these enzymes may become more catalytically active and more therapeutically benefical. In so doing, the company aims to produce chemicals of value to the pharmaceutical industry and the wider marketplace.
