In the second quarter of 2018, we successfully demonstrated our industrial process at full-scale to produce a high-purity, zero calorie sweetener derived from sugarcane, and in December 2018, we received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) that we received its "Generally Recognized As Safe" designation concurrence, and began producing commercial quantities of Steviol Glycoside Rebaudioside M (or Reb M) at DSM’s Brotas facility during the fourth quarter of 2018. Also, in the third and fourth quarters of 2019 we completed another successful campaign of Reb M utilizing the Brotas facility and a contract manufacturer for the purification steps and produced more than three times the volume of Reb M than in the December 2018/January 2019 campaign. We believe the Reb M molecule we are producing from sugarcane is one of the leading natural sweeteners. When derived from the Stevia plant, Reb M is found in very limited quantities. The Reb M we produce from sugarcane is more sustainable and lower cost than other natural sweeteners, and has a specific technical profile that we believe is advantaged in taste and total process economics for blends and formulations.
In June and December 2018, we and our contract manufacturer, Antibióticos de León (ADL), executed amendments to our January 2018 production agreement, thereby providing us additional tank capacity at ADL’s production facility in León, Spain. These amendments provide additional, cost-effective manufacturing capability to meet higher than expected product demand from our partners. The amended agreement includes a commitment to running a certain number of batches at ADL’s production facility from the period September 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019 for up to six of our products. In June 2019, we signed an additional amendment to this agreement extending our commitment through December 2020.
In the second quarter of 2018, we executed an agreement for a significant project consortium in Europe with the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) Porto Campus and AICEP Portugal Global (AICEP). UCP is a university system, including the leading biotech school in Portugal, and operates 15 research centers. AICEP is an independent public entity of the Government of Portugal, focused in encouraging foreign companies to invest in Portugal. In conjunction with this agreement, we opened a subsidiary in Porto, Portugal. The primary purpose of this subsidiary is to conduct a research and development project together with Escola Superior de Biotecnologia o Universidade Católica Portuguese. This subsidiary will be the second R&D center of Amyris and will be responsible for certain areas of research, namely valorization of fermentation residues and wastes and the advancement of the Company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Informatics platform. The overall multi-year project is valued up to approximately $50 million including investment funding and incentives allotted across the parties involved. We have sole responsibility for commercialization and majority ownership of all intellectual property (IP) generated. We believe this is the largest biotechnology grant ever awarded in Portugal and one of the largest ever approved by the AICEP for commercial applications.
In the third quarter of 2018, we entered into a supply and distribution agreement for our new, sugarcane-derived, zero calorie sweetener with ASR Group, the world’s largest cane sugar refiner. Also in the third quarter of 2018, we entered into a license and collaboration agreement with a subsidiary of Yifan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Yifan), which is one of the leading Chinese pharmaceutical companies. Such license and collaboration agreement was expanded in November 2018.
On May 2, 2019, we consummated a research, collaboration and license agreement (the Cannabinoid Agreement) with LAVVAN, Inc., a newly formed investment-backed company (Lavvan), for up to $300 million for the development, manufacture and commercialization of cannabinoids. Under the agreement, the Company will perform research and development activities and Lavvan will be responsible for the commercialization of the cannabinoids developed under the agreement. The Cannabinoid Agreement is being principally funded on a milestone basis, with the Company also entitled to receive certain supplementary research and development funding from Lavvan. The Company could receive aggregate funding of up to $300 million over the term of the Cannabinoid Agreement if all of the milestones are achieved. Additionally, the agreement provides for royalties to the Company on Lavvan's gross profit margin once products are commercialized; these payments will be due for the next 20 years. Consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Cannabinoid Agreement included the formation of a special purpose entity to hold certain intellectual property created during the collaboration (the Cannabinoid Collaboration IP), the licensing of certain Company intellectual property to Lavvan, the licensing of the Cannabinoid Collaboration IP to the Company and Lavvan, and the granting by the Company to Lavvan of a lien on our background intellectual property being licensed to Lavvan under the Cannabinoid Agreement, which would be subordinated to the lien on such intellectual property under the Foris LSA debt facility; see Note 4, “Debt” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
On May 10, 2019, the Company and Raizen Energia S.A. (Raizen) entered into an agreement relating to the formation and operation of a joint venture relating to the production, sale and commercialization of alternative sweetener products. In connection with the formation of the joint venture, among other things, (i) the joint venture will construct a manufacturing facility on land owned by Raizen and leased to the joint venture (the Sweetener Plant), (ii) the Company will grant to the joint venture an exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, license to certain technology owned by the Company relevant to the joint venture’s business, and (iii) the Company and Raizen will enter into a shareholders agreement setting forth the rights and obligations of the parties with respect to, and the management of, the joint venture. The formation of the joint venture is subject
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