Cyanotech Corp. A pilot test is under way, with limited production expected by the end of the year. It is about 18 months away from full production, pending approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. Target markets are Asian and Pacific rim countries, Cysewski said, where mosquitoes are much more of a health problem than they are here. Karuna-Karan served as chief executive until, blamed for the company's problems, he was forced out seven years later. Wash. Cysewski, the scientific director, eventually took over as president and CEO and corporate offices were moved to Keahole, reflecting the shift in emphasis from research to production, and its financial management was tightened.
Microalgal paste moves along a conveyor belt after it has been filtered from water.
The supplement is then packaged as powder, flakes or tablets. Today, Cyanotech is in an expansion stage. But Cyanotech is staking its future in this bleak terrain of hardened lava. Since 1992, it has increased its production capacity 350 percent. And if Spirulina production increases by 50 percent, as hoped, that could add six more employees to the current staff of 55.