Spotlights

The human immune system is very good at recognizing foreign proteins. While this is critical for protecting against infections, it is sometimes too good: protein therapeutics like monoclonal antibodies are typically much safer than small molecule drugs, but the body often rejects them as foreign. Meet Lumen Bioscience, an antibody engineering company delivering therapeutics to places where our bodies won’t reject them: the GI tract, nasal passages, and skin. Our immune system is accustomed to all the foreign proteins we eat, smell, and touch, so this improves safety. These antibody drugs can be delivered in higher concentrations which improves efficacy against certain diseases. Learn more about Lumen’s promising clinical trial results and how they can produce antibodies at one-hundredth of the cost!

Consider the origins of the products we use in our daily lives; almost everything owes its history to the oil field, the strip mine or the slaughterhouse. Meet Cambrium, a Berlin-based synthetic biology company rethinking the material world by designing sustainable, high-impact proteins and producing them with microbes! By engineering the amino acid sequence in structural proteins, the company creates novel materials with specific properties and functions. Starting with optimized collagen for cosmetics, Cambrium is building a pipeline of highly functional, animal-free, fossil-free ingredients to usher in a new materials future without compromise. Learn more about Cambrium’s first product launch and stay tuned for news of the company’s upcoming collaborations with innovators in skincare and beyond!

It’s no secret that animal agriculture is severely damaging our planet. While we transition our diets to sustainable proteins, we also need to reimagine our materials, especially leather. Meet SQIM, a materials company bringing plastic-free "mycelium leather" to market! By leveraging liquid and solid-state fermentation, SQIM is quickly scaling the production of EPHEA, a novel class of superior materials that can be thoroughly customized for use in the fashion industry. EPHEA can be dyed, embossed, finished, and adapted to create animal-free, high-quality products, without harming our planet. Learn more about SQIM, the ongoing scale-up of EPHEA, and their commercially available mycelium-based products for interior design, MOGU! (image: EPHEA)

Women’s health has been long overlooked and underserved. Non-prescription supplements often claim to help women’s vaginal microbiome health, but none of them have proven therapeutic value. Meet LUCA Biologics, a biotechnology company developing a new class of microbe-based therapies to treat unmet needs in women's health. The company’s living medicines, which target the vaginal microbiome for urogenital and reproductive health, will go through a full FDA approval process and could finally offer women solutions for antibiotic-resistant UTIs, STIs, bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth. LUCA is also working to support women’s health globally, not only in affluent regions. Learn more about LUCA’s goals of supporting women and keep up with their clinical trial progress!

Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration: that’s the name of the synbio game and that’s why Molecular Devices and IDT are teaming up to make it easier for biotech companies to accelerate their research. For 35 years, IDT has supplied DNA constructs that are critical for research and discovery. Molecular Devices focuses on automated hardware and software for upstream and downstream processing and the robotics needed to screen up to 30,000 DNA clones every day. The companies’ synergy is clear: IDT supplies custom DNA and Molecular Devices provides the tools to efficiently run experiments and analyze the results. Now the companies are taking their synergy a step further. Learn more about IDT and Molecular Devices’ 2022 special offer to accelerate companies operating in the bioeconomy!

Most people wait to feel sick before they go to the doctor. But imagine if you could wake up in the morning, do a quick scan of your health using a semiconductor chip and immediately know your health status before symptoms even start. This kind of technology could democratize healthcare and ensure everyone can access their health information quickly and reliably. Meet Roswell Biotechnologies, a company turning individual molecules into biosensors on a chip. By miniaturizing biosensors, Roswell is able to fully leverage the power of chip technology to create scalable, affordable data snapshots about our health and our environment. Learn more about how Roswell is deploying their technology in drug discovery, biosecurity, crop protection, and much more!

Synthetic biology solutions have tremendous potential. But they won’t have the desired impact if they take too long to reach those who need them most. Meet Codex DNA, a pioneering synbio company creating easy-to-use technology for automatically assembling genetic constructs and synthesizing RNA and proteins. Codex DNA incorporates DNA synthesis, gene assembly, mRNA and protein expression into a single system, the BioXp platform. Instead of running between different machines or waiting for a month of shipping time, scientists can run the entire system in the lab overnight. Imagine how much faster drugs could reach patients when we can run experiments any day, every day, not every month. Learn more about Codex DNA’s goals to accelerate the bioeconomy launching in 2023!

Imagine if every graphics design company built its own version of Photoshop in-house? What a waste of resources! Biology is facing the same challenge. Today, every company builds its own system to store and manage petabytes of data generated by their experiments. Meet Latch Bio, an infrastructure company uniting wet-lab experiments with dry lab data processing, storage, and analyses. The no-code platform enables scientists to get their results quickly and takes away the headaches of build-it-yourself data management. Learn more about Latch Bio’s goal of streamlining data so scientists can focus on solving the world’s biggest problems with biology!

Leveraging data to extract actionable insights from experiments can be a challenge. Particularly when optimizing growth media, reagents, DNA sequences, and metabolic pathways. Meet Officinae Bio, a company turning data into actionable insights to design better bio-based products. Officinae Bio’s full-stack modular platform can be incorporated into any lab to integrate and structure data at every step of the R&D process. The AI-native design and collaboration platform creates powerful and actionable insights and enables exponential learnings, moving research beyond trial-and-error discovery. Learn more about Officinae Bio’s desire to empower biologists to use their data to guide their next best experiment and design.

Today’s food and agriculture industry produces more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Saving our planet means transforming not only what we eat but how we make it. Meet Acies Bio, an EU-based company developing full technology pipelines focused on novel food and agriculture solutions! From scaling bio-pesticides, to replacing harmful mineral fertilizers, and producing new, edible proteins with microbes, the Acies team is leveraging their deep experience in complex organism engineering to optimize and solve some of our biggest food challenges. Learn more about how Acies is collaborating with companies across the global bioeconomy and creating end-to-end solutions for advancing our sustainable future.

Understanding and treating diseases often means studying genetic code, from cancer tumors to viruses. But many genetic sequences are difficult to produce in microbes and some, like viral DNA, kill the microbes outright. So, how can we study critical DNA sequences if we struggle to produce them in cells? Meet OriCiro, a Japanese company assembling circular DNA molecules called plasmids completely cell free! Instead of culturing microbes, which can take days and requires special living conditions, OriCiro’s technology can produce even the most complex plasmids in a test tube in a matter of hours. Learn more about how OriCiro is helping eliminate technological barriers for researchers discovering new therapies, including for COVID-19!

Science is inherently collaborative. Researchers and entrepreneurs build off of the discoveries of others, adding their own insights and advances. The same is true for the bioeconomy—no single company can solve the world’s problems using biology on their own. Meet Sidley Austin LLP, a global law firm with a dedicated practice for negotiating the agreements that make it possible for biotech companies to collaborate. The firm’s Technology and Life Science Transactions team ensures collaborations are resilient enough to stand the test of time, yet flexible enough to adapt in an ever-changing environment, with a strong focus on understanding the underlying science and business imperatives. Learn more about how Sidley Austin is helping empower synthetic biology companies to collaborate and build a stronger bioeconomy!

Scaling the bioeconomy isn’t just about building bigger bioreactors. We also need to scale making DNA. But not just any DNA. We need error-free, gene-length sequences to take bioengineering to the next level. Oh, and wouldn’t it be nice to make it in your own lab, too? Meet Evonetix, a British company synthesizing 100s to 1000s of unique DNA sequences and assembling them into genes on tiny chips! Instead of using acid washes, Evonetix controls DNA synthesis using temperature, miniaturizing the process while creating greater precision. The entire system fits into a lab, putting DNA in the hands of scientists in days rather than waiting for weeks of shipping. Learn more about how Evonetix is shrinking DNA synthesis to help grow the bioeconomy!

Did you know insects are some of nature’s most efficient protein producers? Not only are they a sustainable, nutritious food eaten by over 2 billion people worldwide, but they can also produce essential recombinant proteins used to make medicines like insulin and vaccines. Meet Future Fields, a Canadian synthetic biology company harnessing fruit flies to produce molecules for biopharma and cultured meat technologies. Fruit flies may be annoying in your kitchen, but they can also be more effective at converting energy (read: fruit!) into valuable proteins like growth factors than traditional microbes. Learn more about how Future Fields is reimagining the future of bioproduction with scalable and sustainable insect farming!

Nature has evolved to make 20 amino acid building blocks that lay the foundation for all proteins in living organisms. But the standard 20 building blocks only get us so far. Meet GRO Biosciences, a company using novel amino acids to treat human diseases. Take autoimmune diseases: the human body stops recognizing itself, accidentally labeling human proteins as foreign. But with custom amino acids, GRObio’s technology can help the human body re-recognize proteins like proinsulin, a critical step in curing Type 1 diabetes. Learn more about GRO Biosciences’ plans to bring these drugs to clinical trials in 2024 and its work in helping build a new foundation for the future of medicine!

Storing our digital lives requires unsustainable physical infrastructure and energy consumption. But electronics don’t need to be our only way of storing data. Meet CATALOG, a company storing data in life’s original code: DNA. DNA is highly stable and can store tremendous amounts of information for thousands of years. By stringing together specific DNA sequences like lego blocks, CATALOG translates electronic 1s and 0s into genetic As,Ts,Cs,Gs. While we won’t have DNA hard drives for a long time, we can use synthetic DNA to search data sets and compute solutions to traditionally intractable problems. Learn more about CATALOG’s goals of building sustainable data storage and get a preview of what our data futures could look like!

Billions of people live in Earth’s cities and more come every year. But building new homes, offices, and roads pollutes and damages our environment. So what if we could build cities with biology instead? Meet HBBE, the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment, a research collaboration between Northumbria and Newcastle universities in the UK. HBBE’s work focuses on leveraging biology to create sustainable solutions at city scales. Imagine using naturally fire-resistant mycelium as insulation in your home or laying self-healing, microbe-based concrete foundations in our schools. Part of HBBE’s work aims on bringing these kinds of living materials to life. Learn more about HBBE’s groundbreaking research and see what our future cities could be like!

Identifying genetic disease can be extremely challenging. There are fragments of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in samples taken to detect and monitor cancer, as well as for non-invasive prenatal testing. These fragments can contain information about genetic abnormalities or other genetic risk factors. Because the amount of cfDNA is so small, it can be difficult to get accurate results. Meet Yourgene Health, a molecular diagnostics company with a new suite of tools for enabling accurate collection of essential information from cfDNA. Known as Ranger Technology, these tools enable labs to more efficiently and accurately analyse cfDNA within automated liquid biopsy testing – a key step in advancing personalized diagnostics and medicine. Learn more about Yourgene Health’s work in meeting the demand for more accurate, efficient and accessible genetic diagnostics!

The brain is the body's data center: It’s where all the information for seeing, feeling, and interacting with our environment is gathered, processed, and relayed. But what happens when this data can’t be transmitted to and from other parts of the body—as when people suffer paralysis, blindness, or serious neurological conditions? Meet Paradromics, a neurotechnology company with a goal to translate this data into speech and action. Using tiny microelectrode arrays implanted into the surface of the brain, Paradromics gathers neural signals to be translated into the user's intended outcome. Learn more about neuroscience, neuroethics, and the business of neurotech with leaders in the field on the Paradromics-produced Neurotech Pub podcast.

Every cell in the body holds a unique library of information. These libraries can reveal what cells are affected by a disease, if a treatment is working, or even how neurons are behaving in the brain. But isolating each cell for analysis is time-consuming and expensive. Meet Parse Biosciences, a Seattle-based company making single-cell sequencing available and affordable for all! Rather than isolate each cell in individual microfluidics compartments, the company keeps all the cells together and "barcodes" each one with unique combinations of DNA tags. "Scan" the barcodes—get the data! Learn more about how Parse Biosciences is helping us understand diseases, develop cell therapies, and even advance cultured meat!

The chemicals industry has three big problems: it uses too much energy, produces too much waste, and doesn’t play well with bio-based materials. Meet EnginZyme, a Swedish synthetic biology company solving all these problems with nature’s most effective catalysts, enzymes! Traditionally, the chemicals industry uses heavy metals catalysts to convert an initial feedstock into a final product. But these catalysts need very high temperatures and produce huge amounts of waste. EnginZyme’s catalysts function at near-room temperatures, are designed to eliminate waste, and of course, they work perfectly with sustainable feedstocks like sugar and vegetable oil. Learn more about how EnginZyme’s catalysts fit neatly into existing pipelines to transform the chemicals industry one enzyme at a time!

Who says carbon has to be a curse? Fossil fuel emissions pollute our planet, but carbon is also one of nature’s best building blocks. Meet LanzaTech, a synthetic biology company turning carbon emissions into valuable materials using microbes! The company captures industrial emissions and feeds the gasses to specialized microbes. The microbes turn the gasses into chemicals such as ethanol, a base ingredient for products like sustainable aviation fuel and polyester textiles. (Psst, check out LanzaTech’s collaboration with fashion giants, Lululemon and Zara!). LanzaTech has already kept over 150,000 tons of CO2 out of our atmosphere and now has two commercial plants in China. Learn more about how LanzaTech proves climate change-fighting technology is good for business and our planet.

First Bight Ventures is a Houston, TX based early-stage biotech venture capital fund. First Bight was launched by noted venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur Veronica Wu. Starting in 2015, she crafted a unique investment model enabling a Chinese private equity firm to successfully deploy ~ $200M in technology start-ups. Over a span of 6 years, she invested in 300+ early-stage tech companies, resulting in 34 unicorns, 6 SPACs, and 4 IPOs. First Bight’s mission is to leverage their success in information technology to help early-stage SynBio companies, especially those in biopharma, consumer technology, industrial/environmental materials, and sustainable agriculture, get to market faster, scale operations, and achieve sustainable revenues. First Bight aims to leverage Texas' local talent and resource pool from academia, research institutions, industry, and entrepreneurs to create a consortium that will enable Texas to become a leader in the Biology Revolution. For more information, see firstbight.com.

Synthetic biology is founded on the ability to read, write, and test DNA. Writing short DNA fragments has become relatively cheap but stringing them together in long, gene-length strands needed for applications like cell and gene therapy is still labor-intensive and error-prone. Meet RootPath Genomics, a synthetic biology company solving the DNA assembly challenge of 100% accuracy. With the help of a biophysics-based algorithm, the company synthesizes thousands of genes by assembling tens of thousands of short DNA fragments simultaneously in test tubes. By "tuning" chemical reactions, only perfectly matching sequences assemble in the right order. Learn more about how RootPath’s novel approach is helping make genetic medicines accessible and affordable for all!

Everything around you has been designed, from your clothes, to your vacuum and the packaging protecting your food. Biodesign, a growing movement and method of design thinking, gives us the ability to design for and with biology. But how do you get started? What does it take to incorporate biology into everyday materials? Meet Biorealize, a platform company with tools and support for designers, academics, students, and even haute couture fashion houses to bring their biodesign ambitions to life! Integrating packaging made from mushrooms, plastics made from microbes, the possibilities of designing with biology are only limited by your imagination. Learn more about how Biorealize is empowering creative sustainability and finding new ways of bringing nature into our daily lives.