A company in Houston has discovered an efficient way to manufacture a game-changing antioxidant that does wonders for the body. Image via continualg.com

Rajan Shah, an MIT-trained chemical engineer, brought his patented manufacturing process 20 years in the making and from an ocean away to Houston with one goal in mind: to take what he calls the body's "master antioxidant" to market.

Known as Continual G, Shah's product packs the supplement known as Glyteine into a powder form that when mixed with water can be consumed as a citrus-flavored beverage. Glyteine is known to increase cellular glutathione levels in the body, which can boost immunity, support sports activity and recovery, and address a variety of oxidative stressors that impact the body and brain as humans age.

Shah and a team of four at his INID Research Lab in Cypress are the only company in the world producing the dipeptide in this accessible format.

"The fact that the only way to increase cellular glutathione is with Glyteine has been known for almost 40 years," Shah says. "The problem is how to make it in a way which becomes cost effective so that it can be sold and people can afford to buy it."

It was this problem that Shah and a team at the University of New South Wales in Australia spent about 13 years tackling, as the creation the Glyteine — which requires the rare catalyzation of enzymes — would leave researchers with expensive byproduct that would result in high costs for little product. But in 2005, the university was awarded a patent for the manufacturing process the group developed that essentially eliminated waste. Instead, they were able to recycle the by product to create even more of the powerful protein.

"Only when we could solve these problems did it become affordable. Then you are using your raw materials to produce your product and nothing else. We were able to recycle," Shah explains. "That is what took the time and that is what made it affordable cost wise."

Next the group spent years scaling the production of the compound and learning how to best deploy it to a customer base. Initially, the group hoped to simply sell the protein to large supplement companies, such as GNC. But when they were met with reservations due to the product's newness, they pivoted.

Houston's large pool of chemical manufacturing workers and easy access to water (a key ingredient in Continual G's production) attracted the Aussie-based scientist. And in 2017, Shah took the practices from down under to the Bayou City just days before Hurricane Harvey hit.

Today the group is producing about a quarter of a million packets of Continual G each month with the help of an outsourced, Texas-based manufacturer who assists the group of engineers in transposing the compound into a drinkable powder. They operate out of a state-of-the-art, 14,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and hope to scale up again.

"Everyone involved with this endeavor has a heartfelt commitment," Shah adds in a statement. "Glyteine has profound implications for human health. That alone has made it well worth the effort to overcome every challenge we have faced and continue to face."

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Axiom Space-tested cancer drug advances to clinical trials

mission critical

A cancer-fighting drug tested aboard several Axiom Space missions is moving forward to clinical trials.

Rebecsinib, which targets a cancer cloning and immune evasion gene, ADAR1, has received FDA approval to enter clinical trials under active Investigational New Drug (IND) status, according to a news release. The drug was tested aboard Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3). It was developed by Aspera Biomedicine, led by Dr. Catriona Jamieson, director of the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute (SSCI).

The San Diego-based Aspera team and Houston-based Axiom partnered to allow Rebecsinib to be tested in microgravity. Tumors have been shown to grow more rapidly in microgravity and even mimic how aggressive cancers can develop in patients.

“In terms of tumor growth, we see a doubling in growth of these little mini-tumors in just 10 days,” Jamieson explained in the release.

Rebecsinib took part in the patient-derived tumor organoid testing aboard the International Space Station. Similar testing is planned to continue on Axiom Station, the company's commercial space station that's currently under development.

Additionally, the drug will be tested aboard Ax-4 under its active IND status, which was targeted to launch June 25.

“We anticipate that this monumental mission will inform the expanded development of the first ADAR1 inhibitory cancer stem cell targeting drug for a broad array of cancers," Jamieson added.

According to Axiom, the milestone represents the potential for commercial space collaborations.

“We’re proud to work with Aspera Biomedicines and the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute, as together we have achieved a historic milestone, and we’re even more excited for what’s to come,” Tejpaul Bhatia, the new CEO of Axiom Space, said in the release. “This is how we crack the code of the space economy – uniting public and private partners to turn microgravity into a launchpad for breakthroughs.”

Chevron enters the lithium market with major Texas land acquisition

to market

Chevron U.S.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Chevron, has taken its first big step toward establishing a commercial-scale lithium business.

Chevron acquired leaseholds totaling about 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. The acreage contains a high amount of lithium, which Chevron plans to extract from brines produced from the subsurface.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of technologies, such as smartwatches, e-bikes, pacemakers, and batteries for electric vehicles, according to Chevron. The International Energy Agency estimates lithium demand could grow more than 400 percent by 2040.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand U.S.-based critical mineral supplies,” Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said in a news release. “Establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains is essential not only to maintaining U.S. energy leadership but also to meeting the growing demand from customers.”

Rania Yacoub, corporate business development manager at Chevron New Energies, said that amid heightening demand, lithium is “one of the world’s most sought-after natural resources.”

“Chevron is looking to help meet that demand and drive U.S. energy competitiveness by sourcing lithium domestically,” Yacoub said.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.