Zero Gravity Solutions, Inc., a Nevada corporation, is a biotechnology company
focused on commercializing technology derived from, and designed for spaceflight
with significant applications on Earth. These technologies are focused on improving
world agriculture by providing valuable solutions to challenges facing humanity,
including threats to world agriculture and the ability to feed the world’s
rapidly growing population. The Company’s business model is currently
focused on its two primary business segments: 1) BAM-FX™, which is a cost
effective, ionic nutrient delivery system for plants that can deliver minerals
and micronutrients systemically at the cellular level of a plant, and 2) Directed
Selection™, which relates to the production and alteration of new varieties
of novel stem cells with unique and beneficial characteristics in the prolonged
zero/micro gravity environment of the International Space Station. These novel
stem cells, if developed, could be patented for commercial sale to third parties
in the agricultural and human regenerative medical markets. ZGSI is headquartered
in Boca Raton, Florida.
Our business activities are separated between two primary wholly owned subsidiaries.
BAM Agricultural Solutions, Inc., (“BAM Inc.”), oversees product
introduction and business development through in-field trials and data validation
with crop growers, manufacturing and sales of our BAM-FX™ product in house
or through our domestic and international independent distributors. Zero Gravity
Life Sciences Inc. (“ZGLS”) is responsible for any space research
projects, life science applications of our technology and conducting research
on future BAM Inc. product lines. We believe that the separation of these functions
and the corresponding allocation of management by expertise will enable us to
improve our performance and provide focus on our different business activities.
Our Directed Selection™ research aims to produce new varieties of proprietary,
patentable stem cells for plants with desirable traits, such as the ability
to better survive environmental challenges (i.e. temperature or climate change)
or to resist disease. Adaptive changes in the plant will be accomplished without
the need for additive or subtractive genetic engineering, thus eliminating public
concerns about genetically modified organisms (“GMO”). The plant
still uses the capabilities that are a natural part of its genetic potential,
through altered gene expression that enables adaptation toward valuable traits.
Another important aspect of our space derived IP capitalizes on space flight
experiments showing the unique effects of zero/microgravity on mammalian cells.
Space-based technology imparts the likely ability to reproduce undifferentiated
multi-potent human stem cells in substantially larger quantities and more rapidly
than is possible on Earth. Long-term goals include revolutionary advancements
in stem cell differentiation, cellular macrostructure assembly, vascularization
and wound healing. Because both humans and animals use very similar metabolic
pathways, we also expect to produce patented stem cells that can provide beneficial
treatments to commercial livestock. We believe that this area may lead to significant
future business opportunities for the Company.
The Company continues to develop technical relationships to validate the science
incorporated in BAM-FX™ and identify additional commercial markets. During
January 2016, the Company executed a new five-year Reimbursable Space Act Agreement,
(“RSAA”), with NASA Ames Research Center (“NASA ARC”)
and an existing investor and contractor, Intrinsyx Technologies Corporation
(“Intrinsyx”). The RSAA will give the Company access to NASA scientists
and laboratories, which when engaged, may assist in identifying and documenting
additional attributes of the Company’s science and potential applications
in other segments of agricultural markets. Because the RSAA is reimbursable,
in which the Company reimburses NASA for their technical services, ownership
of intellectual property resulting from the research work performed, is retained
by the Company.
The primary objectives of the RSAA are:
To establish the scientific basis for action of ZGSI products,
To quantify the impact of ZGSI products on plant growth and productivity,
To evaluate and test the impact of ZGSI products on yield physiology of selected
crops important to commercial agriculture and NASA applications, and
To evaluate and test the potential utility of ZGSI products to NASA space biology
and life support applications.
NASA ARC will utilize its unique, ground-based, controlled environment facilities
and research personnel to address a series of science-based questions relevant
to both ZGSI and NASA. The scientific data will be jointly evaluated by ZGSI
and NASA ARC to determine utility of the ZGSI products to commercial agriculture
and NASA applications. If jointly agreed and based on evaluation of the scientific
data, space flight and other opportunities could be developed to test a potential
role in achieving NASA goals in plant-based space biology and life support pursuits.
ZGSI, working with NASA ARC, expects to understand the mode of action and physiological
effects leading to increased yields currently observed on earth in commercial
agricultural systems. ZGSI will gain access to NASA ARC’s unique facilities
designed specifically to conduct ecophysiological studies of the type necessary
to address the science questions of interest to ZGSI. Additionally, ZGSI will
discover if BAM-FX™ truly has applications for growing plants in the controlled
conditions of spaceflight and for human colonization of other worlds. ZGSI expects
to optimize BAM-FX™ application methods in controlled environment agriculture
on earth and for use in space flight applications.
BAM Agricultural Solutions, Inc.
The Company’s subsidiary, BAM Inc., has been executing the commercial
roll out of BAM-FX™ into the world’s agricultural markets. Following
two years of initial product testing with several universities, end product
users and laboratory work, BAM-FX™ has now been licensed and approved
for sale in sixteen states in the United States: Utah, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland,
Delaware, Nevada, Arizona, Alabama, Californian, Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina,
Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia and Florida. The Company has focused on building
a solid foundation, addressing regulatory and compliance issues while developing
sales and technical teams in targeted geographic areas. The Company has received
initial and second season commercial orders from end users (growers) and distributors,
which have been manufactured, invoiced and shipped.
The Company is currently increasing its internal sales and technical team and
establishing non-exclusive distribution relationships with national and regional
agricultural product distributors to promote brand awareness and increase domestic
and international sales. The Company’s strategic growth plan includes
organic growth through product sales, strategic alliances and distributors.
In development are sales and marketing tools highlighting the benefits of applying
BAM-FX™ which include: improved plant health, increased nutritional value,
reduction of fertilizer applications, stress relief and positive electronic
charge which infuses zinc and copper into plant leaf cells. Tools to enable
field sales personnel to compute the product’s value proposition or return
on a grower’s investment are also in development and expect to be deployed
during the end of the first quarter of 2016.
In addition, we have identified several crops of high market value that, based
upon our testing, have shown BAM-FX™ significantly increases crop yield,
quality and nutritional value. Such crops include grapes, avocados, strawberries,
raspberries, alfalfa, spinach (leafy vegetables) and tomatoes, among others.
We track the amount of acreage dedicated to a specific crop and the market value
of the crop in order to prioritize our marketing and sales efforts.
Our distributor in Chile commenced commercial product sales to growers in Chile
during the first quarter of 2016. Crops include wine and table grapes, avocado,
blueberries, walnuts, cherries and pears. Our distributor is also in the process
of establishing warehouse operations and obtaining regulatory approvals to break
down BAM-FX™ bulk receipts into container sizes acceptable to growers
and then repackage and re-label the containers for sale within Chile and to
export to other South American countries. Based upon the initial product launch
in Chile and the commercial acceptance of BAM-FX™ in the Chilean market,
we expect the second quarter 2016 revenue from sales to contribute significantly
to our 2016 results. As part of our expansion plan in South America, product
validation has been initiated on fruit trees in Peru and Paraguay.
Zero Gravity Life Sciences, Inc.
ZGLS’s short to mid-term plans includes the utilization of NASA and European
space agencies relationships to focus research on BAM-FX™ as it relates
to our space program applications, as well as to engage in research based upon
the Company’s zero/micro gravity intellectual property leading toward
the development and patenting of unique stem cells developed on the ISS. These
patentable plant stem cell lines could lead to new global food cash crops such
as rice that may be resistant to climate change and other adverse factors. ZGLS
will also be engaged in the human regenerative medical field developing cell
growth types and capabilities not possible on the ground. We believe this may
lead to positive commercial outcomes.
ZGLS is also continuing ground-based research on a pipeline of additional derivative
BAM-FX™ products utilizing other minerals and micronutrients other than
our original Zinc-Copper compound. The Company intends to build a family of
“BAM” related products for different crops, soil conditions and
nutritional outcomes.
