Intrexon rises after announcing advances in production of medical cannabis

Shares of Intrexon are rising in pre-market trading after the company announced advances in the development of its microbial platform to produce cannabinoids for medical uses. "Through Intrexon's proprietary technologies, the company has engineered a yeast strain to produce low-cost, robust and consistent cannabinoid outputs via fermentation. This process utilizing microbes has potential to provide greater supply-chain security, and avoids the resource-intensive isolation that often leads to quality and quantity variability in end products," the company stated. Chris Savile, Executive Director of Commercial Operations at Intrexon, added, "As with some of our other similar projects, in thebaine, for example, microbial fermentation routes to produce cannabinoids provide advantages over traditional plant-based extraction. Through our capabilities and experience, we expect to optimize strains to produce specific cannabinoids that may be commercialized in the coming years." Following the company's press release, shares of Intrexon are up $1.89, or 13%, to $16.39 ahead of the opening bell.