GreenLight Biosciences opens new RNA production facility in Rochester

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) – GreenLight Biosciences has opened a new RNA production facility for the next generation of agriculture products right here in Rochester.

Workers say this plant- has manufactured more RNA than anywhere else on earth and this is a big step for those in manufacturing for human, animal, and plant health.

“GreenLight Biosciences is at the start of something really exciting we’re using RNA to solve some of the world’s biggest problem,” GreenLight Biosciences marketing director Catie Lee said.

RNA is a term you’ve been hearing for more than a year and a half, first, accelerating and changing the course of the pandemic with Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine.

Lee said RNA can also help drive us to a safer, greener food system.

“We are using the facility to manufacture samples that we’re going to be using to ultimately commercialize our products,” Lee said.

This new 17,000 square foot facility located at Eastman Business Park will manufacture enzymes for a variety of agriculture applications.

“The first two solutions that were going to be coming out with is to protect potato farmers from Colorado beetle including farmers here in upstate New York as well as to protect honeybees from the varroa destructor,” Lee said.

Lee said the RNA allows the farmers to deal with the pests by spraying their product onto their field and control their pests, but it’s naturally occurring.

“The market is I don’t want to say infinite but as we roll out new products, we’re trying to spread out to every aspect of the agriculture and the food chain,” GreenLight Biosciences Rochester site director Adam Shanebrook said.

He said this will be a big boom in business to help the farmers of the world for years to come.

“This is from protecting fruits, protecting all sorts of field crops as well as the honeybee and in emerging markets as well so we are looking all over the world about unstable food chains that really need our help,” Shanebrook said.

GreenLight Bioscience has 12 people working and expects to grow to about 30 in the next two years and expand it from there.