Molecular farming pioneer Moolec Science has completed the first phase of the industrialisation of its GLA-rich safflower oil, and has kicked off a new sowing campaign and a move into renewable energy.
Moolec Science, a company using molecular farming to grow sustainable ingredients in plants, has achieved a major breakthrough for its GLA-rich safflower oil.
It has completed phase one of its efforts to industrialise the platform, titled GLASO1, following a record 2025 campaign that exceeded all internal forecasts and delivered a “tremendous” volume of high-purity GLA output.
Moolec Science is now advancing its 2026 campaign, with sowing scheduled to begin in early May as it continues an execution-led strategy to scale up production across existing farm infrastructure in the US.
Moolec Science achieves 45% GLA concentration
Plant molecular farming involves modifying plant cells to enable them to express animal proteins within the crop, which can then be harvested from leaves or other plant tissues for use in food and feed applications.
Moolec Science uses a combination of molecular farming and precision fermentation – in which DNA is inserted into microbes to teach them to produce the desired chemicals during fermentation – to produce ingredients like its GLASO oil.
GLA, which stands for gamma-linolenic acid, is an omega-6 fatty acid known for its antioxidant properties. It can decrease inflammation, support the skin barrier, treat symptoms of nerve damage and arthritis, and lower blood pressure, among other benefits.
It’s naturally found in borage and primrose oil, but Moolec Science’s safflower-derived version contains nearly three times as much GLA as these conventional sources. Its 2025 campaign confirmed that the GLASO oil contains around 45% GLA concentration at commercial scale.
Now, the company has validated the ingredient’s agronomic and processing performance, alongside its industrial-scale handling and the availability of high-purity GLA output. This marks a critical step towards full commercial deployment.
GLASO has already received approval from the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a key step in the ingredient’s path to market.
The 2025 season enabled Moolec Science to complete the initial stage of industrialisation, including large-scale harvesting, logistics coordination, and integration with downstream industrial processes. This has translated into an “available, ready-for-delivery end product”.
“The 2025 campaign not only confirmed leading GLA concentrations, but also delivered a level of output that exceeded all expectations,” said CEO Alejandro Antalich. “Our focus now is clear: complete the industrialisation pathway, scale through the 2026 campaign, and expand the platform into new verticals.”
Expanding horizons into the renewable energy sector
Moolec Science’s initially target market has been the pet food industry. That being said, the quality, traceability and concentration profile of its GLASO1 platform can enable it to expand into higher-value applications, including human nutrition and dietary supplements.
It is expanding its innovation pipeline through a strategic research collaboration with one of the world’s largest agrifood companies. As part of this, the startup has accessed a germplasm library of 386 safflower varieties from Australia, and is currently in the final stage of selecting the top candidate varieties, based on performance, adaptability, and industrial potential.
The initiative is set to kickstart the development of a new business unit centred around renewable energy feedstocks, one of the largest and structurally growing global markets within the energy transition. Moolec Science said traditional approaches have been characterised by commodity dynamics, but its its differentiated strategy focuses on high-performance and scalable feedstocks.
“By leveraging our molecular farming platform and selecting top-performing safflower varieties at scale, we are positioning Moolec at the highest-value layer of the value chain, where performance, traceability, and scalability drive premium economics,” said Antalich.
“This approach enables participation across multiple high-value applications, including nutrition, supplements, and specialty ingredients, while also positioning the company for long-term participation in energy markets.”
Aside from GLASO, Moolec Science is working to commercialise Piggy Sooy (soybeans that contain pork proteins) and PEEA1 (peas that express bovine myoglobin).
Last year, it merged with Argentina’s Bioceres Group (which it had spun off from in 2020), precision fermentation player Nutrecon, and farm equipment manufacturer Gentle Tech, with Moolec Science emerging as the parent company.
In December, Bioceres began bankruptcy proceedings, resulting in Moolec Science losing control of that business. A month later, it was granted an extension to demonstrate compliance with the Nasdaq stockholders’ equity requirement until the end of June.
Moolec Science remains a leader in the molecular farming space, alongside players such as Mozza Foods, Alpine Bio, Miruku, NewMoo, Finally Foods, and PoLoPo. In February, the first five of these became the inaugural members of the Global Stewardship Group’s Animal Protein Crop Stewardship programme, which aims to boost the molecular farming sector and bring the technology to market.
