EXCLUSIVE: Biotech Company Harvest Direct Adds Andrew And Steve DeAngelo To Advisory Board

Harvest Direct, a cannabis biotech and IP company founded in Seattle, officially added Andrew and Steve DeAngelo to the company's advisory board.

The co-founders of Harborside Inc HBORF join the advisory board, with Steve serving as business development advisor and Andrew as public relations advisor.

Why Does It Matter?

The brothers will provide Harvest Direct with assistance as the company attempts to scale its proprietary decarboxylation technology, Lossless Activation Chamber Y (LACY).

Founder and CEO Zeyead Gharib told Benzinga the DeAngelos will help raise awareness of plant profile retention and LACY's technology as the company embarks on a raise round.

Gharib added that the brothers bring an industry presence and an undeniable connection to the space.

"They are two guys who have been in the cannabis industry ever since it got started, and they're really in it for the right reasons," Gharib said.

Harvest Direct also stood out to the DeAngelos.

"They are the best tasting, best overall user experience in a vape pen I've ever had, period— and I have sampled thousands of cannabis products in my career," Steve DeAngelo said.

Andrew DeAngelo reiterated the importance of products and the team involved.

"They are making products that they themselves use, that patients in their respective families use, and that Steve and I use," DeAngelo added.

He also highlighted the team's leadership, saying the duo of Gharib and president and CSO Zack Iszard have a "dynamic resembling Jobs and Woz."

LACY Technology

Gharib highlighted company value props, headlined by LACY's ability to provide "100% of the original strain makeup of the starting material" in non-smoked products.

In other words, the CEO said, "We're putting cannabis in forms your grandma would be comfortable taking."

Gharib, a proponent of the whole plant consumption experience known as the Entourage Effect, said the plant's versatility of effects is best evidenced when smoked. He said that other consumption methods cannot extract the full plant profile without LACY technology, diminishing the combined effect of a cultivar's compounds.

With LACY, Gharib claims that consumers "Can get all the benefits of cannabis's effects without having to smoke."

Raise And Growth Plans

In development since 2017, the company now hopes to grow its industry footprint substantially.

Gharib intends to add five THC-focused brands to its partner list by the end of 2022. The company aims for 20 additional licensees in year two of the partnership.

LACY technology is currently licensed by one cannabis brand, CBD brand YIPS. Gharib hopes to close the company's raise round before adding partners.

The company sees potential in the medical space, providing cultivar-specific medical options for various conditions.

Harvest Direct said it has additional cannabis IP projects in the works, with the company choosing not to elaborate on the record about the endeavors or timelines.

Latest Activity For The DeAngelos

The addition of the DeAngelos to Harvest Direct marks the latest activity for the brothers.

In January 2021, Steve DeAngelo departed Harborside and the Chairman Emeritus position he held since 2018. The departure was explained as a way for DeAngelo to focus on various business and advocacy endeavors.

Andrew DeAngelo left the venture after holding various management and executive positions between 2006 and 2018.

In addition to their business endeavors, the brothers have been vocal proponents of various causes, notably working with the Last Prisoner Project to raise awareness, support and free cannabis offenders still in prison.