What Trait Biosciences does

Trait Biosciences is a cannabis biotechnology company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with research operations in Los Alamos, NM and Toronto, Canada. The company has developed a proprietary enzymatic glycosylation process that converts water-insoluble hemp-derived cannabinoids (CBD, THC, and others) into fully water-soluble, free-flowing powder forms exceeding 97% purity, marketed under lead molecule CBD82S (Cannabindyl diglucoside / GlyCBD). Unlike nanoemulsions or emulsions, the technology produces true aqueous solutions that eliminate the need for oils, surfactants, or added particles, and has demonstrated 300x faster intestinal permeation, 10x higher epithelial transport, and 100x faster transdermal penetration versus conventional CBD in tissue studies.

The company commercializes these actives through a multi-brand B2B ingredient portfolio: Trait Distilled for beverages and ingestibles, Trait VitaComplex for pharmaceutical and OTC APIs, Trait GlycoRenew for cosmeceuticals and topicals, and Trait Companion for pet health applications. The technology platform is protected by 90+ patents held, applied for, or licensed, with additional IP covering the Trait Amplified hemp plant transformation technology that increases trichome density by at least 30% and total cannabinoid output by approximately 200% (400% for select cannabinoids). Revenue mechanics combine B2B ingredient supply agreements with technology licensing/royalties; products are manufactured under pharma-GMP quality standards and positioned for global supply chains.

The business is supported by a leadership team combining deep CPG, pharmaceutical, and plant science expertise, including CSO Dr. Richard Sayre (recognized by Nature among the "top five crop researchers who could change the world") and President/COO Dr. Hanny Kanafani (prior leadership at PepsiCo, Herbalife, MeadJohnson, and Pillsbury), backed by an advisory bench drawn from Mars Wrigley, Bacardi, Anheuser-Busch, Diageo, IFF, and Vanderbilt. Key institutional investors are Btomorrow Ventures (British American Tobacco's CVC) and Gotham Green Partners, both of which hold board representation and have led successive financing rounds since 2021.

Name

Trait Biosciences

Legal name

Trait Biosciences Inc.

Website

https://traitbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Trait Biosciences is a cannabis biotechnology company that develops proprietary water-soluble cannabinoid ingredients via enzymatic glycosylation. It supplies pharma-grade CBD, THC, and cannabinoid APIs to consumer brands, pharmaceutical developers, and manufacturers across beverages, cosmeceuticals, therapeutics, and pet health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cannabis Biotechnology Ingredients

NAICS

Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Hemp & CBD Product Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

CBD/Hemp Specialty Stores (Tinctures, Oils, Edibles) (CRANAHAA), CBD/Hemp Wellness & Supplements Retail (CRANAHAC), CBD/Hemp Topicals & Beauty Retail (CRANAHAB), CBD/Hemp Pet Products Retail (CRANAHAF)

Keywords

• Water-soluble cannabinoids
• Cannabis biotechnology
• Pharmaceutical cannabinoid APIs
• Cosmeceutical CBD ingredients
• Pet health cannabinoid APIs

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ingredient / B2B Ingredient Sales: Trait Biosciences sells its proprietary water-soluble cannabinoid ingredients (GlyCBD, CBD82S, and branded product lines) as pharma-grade active ingredients to B2B customers including consumer product brands, contract manufacturers, and go-to-market partners. Revenue is generated through ingredient supply agreements with finished goods manufacturers across beverages, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, OTC/Rx therapeutics, and pet health categories. The company positions its ingredients as enabling partners to accelerate product development timelines.
2. Technology Licensing: Trait licenses its patent-protected water-soluble cannabinoid technologies and production processes to commercial partners. The company's IP portfolio (90+ patents) supports licensing arrangements for manufacturing and commercialization rights, enabling partners to build competitive advantage using Trait's technology platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Trait Biosciences converts water-insoluble hemp-derived cannabinoids (CBD, THC, and others) into fully water-soluble, free-flowing white powders (>97% purity) using proprietary enzymatic glycosylation technology. The company sells these patent-protected, pharma-GMP manufactured cannabinoid ingredients under four branded product lines (Distilled, VitaComplex, GlycoRenew, Companion) to B2B customers developing finished products in beverages, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, OTC/Rx therapeutics, and pet health.

Product overview

Trait Biosciences is a biotechnology company that has developed a proprietary glycosylation technology to transform water-insoluble cannabinoids (naturally lipophilic) into truly water-soluble forms. The company operates a multi-brand portfolio architecture: Trait Distilled™ serves consumer ingestibles (beverages, gummies, supplements); Trait VitaComplex targets pharmaceutical/OTC applications; Trait Glycorenew addresses cosmeceuticals and topical skincare; and Trait Companion focuses on companion animal health. The lead commercial molecule is GlyCBD™ (within the Distilled™ brand), with CBD82S (Cannabildyl diglucoside) as a key research-grade compound. All offerings are manufactured under pharma-GMP quality standards and are patent-protected.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Trait Distilled™: Water-soluble CBD ingredient brand for ingestible consumer products including beverages, gummies, and supplements. Enables full dissolution, precise dosing, even distribution, and stable incorporation across diverse oral formats.
• Trait VitaComplex
• Trait GlycoRenew
• Trait Companion
• GlyCBD™

Products and services

• Trait Distilled Water-soluble CBD ingredient brand for consumer ingestible products including beverages, gummies, chewables, and supplements. Enables full dissolution, precise dosing, even distribution, and stable incorporation across diverse oral formats without oils, emulsifiers, or added particles.
• Trait VitaComplex Proprietary line of structurally modified, water-soluble cannabinoid Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) for pharmaceutical applications. Delivers ~300x higher intestinal permeation and ~10x higher epithelial transport vs. conventional CBD, supporting oral, topical, injectable, and inhalable routes for OTC and prescription drug development.
• Trait GlycoRenew Water-soluble CBD ingredient specifically innovated for topical and cosmetic skin applications. Enables true aqueous solutions for sprays, serums, and shampoos with ~100x higher skin absorption vs. conventional CBD and eliminates emulsion stability risks.
• Trait Companion Water-soluble CBD ingredient developed for companion animal health applications (dogs and cats). Validated in in vitro and in vivo studies showing ~300x higher intestinal permeation; enables oral tablets/chews, liquid formulations, and topical applications with more predictable therapeutic efficacy.
• GlyCBD Lead commercial pharma-grade, water-soluble CBD molecule within the Trait Distilled brand. Delivers efficient absorption and consistent performance across ingestible, topical, oral/intranasal mucosal, and inhalable applications.
• CBD82S (Cannabindyl diglucoside) Proprietary glycosylated water-soluble CBD compound (Cannabindyl diglucoside) created by enzymatic addition of glucose to hemp-derived CBD. High purity (>97%), free-flowing white powder with 300x faster intestinal permeation, 10x higher epithelial transport, and 100x faster transdermal penetration vs. conventional CBD; supports oral, topical, inhalable, and injectable delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300× higher intestinal permeation vs. conventional CBD (ex vivo testing)
• +7 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Contract Manufacturers and Go-to-Market PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 October 2023The October 2023 financing specifically states that proceeds will support Trait's partnerships with contract manufacturers and go-to-market partners. This enables the commercialization and scaling of Trait's water-soluble CBD ingredients into finished consumer products across target markets.
• Aurora Cannabis Inc.minorOthers · 8 October 2018Executives Joseph del Moral, Hannan Fleiman, and Ronan Levy, who led the seed financing round and joined Trait's executive team in 2018, previously founded CanvasRx Inc., which was acquired by Aurora Cannabis Inc. in 2016. No direct commercial partnership between Trait and Aurora is explicitly described in the sources.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lexaria Bioscience Corp. Lexaria Bioscience develops its proprietary DehydraTECH technology to enhance the bioavailability and delivery of cannabinoids and other lipophilic active ingredients. Both companies are B2B technology platforms focused on water-soluble/bioavailability-enhanced cannabinoid APIs serving pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and consumer product customers.
• MediPharm Labs Corp. MediPharm Labs is a B2B cannabis extraction and ingredient supplier producing cannabis concentrates and derivative APIs for third-party brands. Like Trait, MediPharm operates a white-label/manufacturer model supplying cannabinoids to consumer product companies rather than competing in retail.
• Botanix Pharmaceuticals Limited: Botanix Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage cannabinoid pharmaceutical company developing prescription treatments using synthetic CBD for skin and systemic conditions. Directly comparable as a small-cap cannabinoid pharma peer pursuing FDA-regulated Rx pathways with proprietary CBD formulations.
• Cure Pharmaceutical (now Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing): Cure Pharmaceutical developed drug delivery platforms for cannabinoids before being acquired by Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing. Comparable as a B2B cannabis drug delivery technology company focused on improved bioavailability and formulation, similar in technical positioning to Trait's glycosylation platform.

Broad incumbents

• GW Pharmaceuticals (Jazz Pharmaceuticals): GW Pharmaceuticals pioneered FDA-approved cannabinoid therapeutics (Epidiolex) and was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals in 2021. Jazz/GW represents the validated endgame for cannabinoid pharma — a relevant incumbent benchmark for Trait's VitaComplex Rx API ambitions, though vastly larger and more diversified.
• Charlotte's Web Holdings: Charlotte's Web is the largest US CBD wellness brand offering tinctures, gummies, topicals, and pet products. While vertically integrated into retail rather than B2B, Charlotte's Web is a key downstream buyer of CBD ingredients and a benchmark for the end-markets Trait Distilled and Trait Companion serve.
• cbdMD, Inc. cbdMD is a leading US CBD consumer brand offering topicals, tinctures, gummies, and pet products. Comparable as a multi-vertical CBD brand operating in the same ingestible, topical, and pet end-markets that Trait's branded ingredients supply.
• Tilray Brands, Inc. Tilray is a global cannabis operator with medical, wellness, and beverage operations across multiple continents. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the cannabis industry whose Canadian/Australian medical divisions overlap with Trait's pharma/cannabinoid API ambitions, though much larger and retail-distribution focused.

Emerging players

• Zynerba Pharmaceuticals: Zynerba Pharmaceuticals develops transdermal synthetic cannabinoid therapeutics for rare neurological and psychiatric conditions. Comparable as a small emerging player in cannabinoid drug delivery with similar regulatory pathway exposure and pipeline-stage execution risk.
• Cardiol Therapeutics: Cardiol Therapeutics is developing pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid formulations targeting inflammatory heart disease. Comparable as a clinical-stage cannabinoid pharma peer with similar Rx development focus and small-cap public company profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TraitBioScience

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trait Biosciences