Search Results for: cell growth

Van Heron Labs has raised $1.1 million in a seed round to develop precision nutrition strategies for maximizing cell growth in biomanufacturing.

Image courtesy of Van Heron Labs
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Van Heron Labs Raises $1.1M to Revolutionize Cell Growth with Precision Nutrition Strategies

Van Heron Labs, a US biotechnology company developing precision nutrition strategies for maximizing cell growth, has raised $1.1 million in a seed round led by FoodLabs, an early-stage VC investor in food, health, and climate solutions. Van Heron Labs aims to support the growth of the emerging bioeconomy by using the power of genetics, bioinformatics, and AI to address critical industrial challenges, such as cell growth, in food, materials, cancer therapeutics, and vaccine biomanufacturing. With the newly raised funds, the company will further improve its technology platform and commercialize existing offerings and services.  “We are excited to lead the funding round in Van Heron Labs, as we firmly believe that their innovative approach to optimizing cellular nutrition has the potential to revolutionize multiple industries, including biopharma, biomanufacturing, …

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Cultivated meat made with serum-free cell growth media

© Eat Just
Cultivated Meat

“Regulatory Milestone” as GOOD Meat Receives Approval for Serum-Free Cell Growth Media

GOOD Meat, Eat Just’s cultivated meat division, has become the first producer worldwide to receive regulatory approval for the use of serum-free cell growth media in cultivated products. To date, most cultivated meat producers have used fetal bovine serum to grow their cells. However, the serum is expensive, of inconsistent quality, and comes with ethical issues. GOOD Meat believes that the use of serum-free media will make cultivated meat production more scalable, efficient, and sustainable, along with reducing costs. Regulatory approval has been granted by the Singapore Food Agency, which previously made history when it approved GOOD Meat’s cultivated chicken nuggets for sale in late 2020. A year later, cultivated chicken breasts were also approved. For the time being, GOOD Meat remains the only brand …

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Cultivated Beef Steak

© Aleph Farms

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Aleph Farms Partners With WACKER to Make Affordable Cell Growth Media Widely Available

Aleph Farms has announced a partnership with protein production technologies supplier WACKER to develop affordable cell growth media for cultivated meat production. The partnership will streamline the production processes for growth medium proteins in order to bring down costs. The proteins produced will be animal-free, acting as a substitute for the fetal bovine serum (FBS) currently most commonly used in the sector. FBS is extremely expensive, accounting for the majority of the cost of cultivated meat, and often has issues with contamination and variable quality. Non exclusive agreement Perhaps most importantly, the new agreement will be non-exclusive, meaning other cultivated meat companies will also be able to access the affordable cell growth media. This could make it possible to bring down costs across the board, …

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Myocopia & University of Helsinki develop growth free medium

Myocopia / University of Helsinki
Cultivated Meat

University of Helsinki Develops “Game-Changing” Cultivated Meat Technology Without Growth Medium Using Stem Cells

Pekka Katajisto of the University of Helsinki’s HiLIFE (Helsinki Institute of Life Science) and his team at the Myocopia project have developed a technology based on stem cell research that they believe would allow the large-scale production of cultivated meat, thus bringing affordable products to the market. The Myocopia researchers argue that cultivating meat in bioreactors relies on expensive growth factors to make the cells grow and differentiate, and these costs hinder cultivated meat companies from growing sufficient volumes of meat cost-effectively. However, after researching how cellular metabolism regulates the division and differentiation of muscle stem cells, the Myocopia team has found another approach to achieve the same cell behavior without using a growth medium. “I believe our innovation is going to be a game …

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Forsea's cultivated eel

© Liran Maimon
Cultivated Seafood

Forsea Achieves “Record-Breaking” Cell Density in Cultivated Eel Prodution

Cultivated seafood startup Forsea Foods announces a significant tech breakthrough for producing cultivated eel at scale. The Israeli startup claims it has reached a “record-breaking” cell density of over 300 million cells/ml using minimal growth media, setting a new industry standard. “This is the highest cell density recorded in the field, moving Forsea to the forefront of cultured seafood production efficiency,” the startup said. Forsea’s cultivated seafood platform implements organoid technology to create a natural growth environment for animal cells, forming three-dimensional tissue structures (whole cuts) without scaffolding. The technology also simplifies production, enhances scalability, and reduces the need for expensive growth factors. Moria Shimoni, CTO of Forsea, comments, “The breakthrough to this level of cell density highlights the strength of our organoid technology. It’s …

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Japanese scientists have developed a new co-culturing system using rat cells and cyanobacteria to create a low-cost alternative to animal serum for cell growth.

© WD Stock Photos - stock.adobe.com
Science

Japanese Scientists Develop Low-Cost Medium to Grow Muscle Cells Without Animal Serum

Japanese scientists have developed a new co-culturing system using rat cells and cyanobacteria to create a low-cost alternative to animal serum for cell growth. Fetal bovine serum has contamination risks and waste accumulation, and is very costly. In addition, it does not align with the promise of producing meat without killing animals. Rat liver cells can also secrete the proteins (growth factors) needed for muscle cell growth, providing a serum alternative for cultivated meat production. However, they produce waste metabolites, like lactate and ammonia, which hinder muscle cell growth. “Although more growth factor-secreting cells and longer cultivation produce larger amounts of growth factors, the downside is that the cells also produce waste products like lactate and ammonia into the medium at the same time, which eventually …

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California Cultured cell cultivated chocolate

© California Cultured
Investments & Finance

Chocolate Giant Puratos Makes Strategic Investment in California Cultured’s Cell-Based Cacao

California Cultured, a startup pioneering plant cell culture to produce cacao, has received an undisclosed investment from Sparkalis, the food tech venture arm of the Belgian international group Puratos. The new capital will fund the startup’s scaling operations at an upcoming new facility (currently under construction) to bring a cell-based cocoa powder product to the market. Filip Arnaut, managing director of Sparkalis, commented: “At Sparkalis, we seek out visionary startups like California Cultured that are creating transformative solutions for the food industry. Their innovative approach to cocoa production aligns perfectly with our mission to foster a healthier and more sustainable future for the global food ecosystem. We are thrilled to support their journey in the world of chocolate.” Uniting forces to address commodity challenges The …

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Christophe Chantre Tender Food

Christophe Chantre © Tender Food
Interviews

Tender Food: “We Need Technology Breakthroughs to Rekindle Growth of the Alternative Meat Industry”

Tender Food is a Boston-based company specializing in plant-based meats, aiming to replicate the texture and taste of whole cuts like chicken breast, pulled pork, and steak. The company’s proprietary technology uses plant proteins to mimic the muscle fibers found in animal meats, providing a more realistic texture and satisfying eating experience compare to other plant-based options. Founded by a team of scientists and entrepreneurs, Tender Food seeks to differentiate itself in the alternative protein market by targeting whole cuts rather than processed products. Christophe Chantre is the co-founder and CEO of Tender Food. In this interview, he discusses the company’s mission to create whole-cut plant-based meats using fiber-spinning technology developed at Harvard. He also explains the company’s focus on scaling production, the role of …

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Future of Foods Podcast

© Future of Foods Podcast
Investments & Finance

Future of Foods Podcast: Anthony Chow, Co-Founder of Agronomics on Funding the Cellular Agriculture (r)Evolution

Alex Crisp, host of Future of Foods Interviews, speaks to Anthony Chow, co-founder of Agronomics, about the future of cellular agriculture and the negative press surrounding the cultivated meat and plant-based industries. He also discusses the challenges faced by plant-based products, particularly regarding their pricing, health concerns, and the need for innovation to attract conventional meat consumers. Agronomics is a leading UK listed investment company with a portfolio of more than 20 companies operating in cellular agriculture, precision fermentation and biotechnology. Here is a clip from the podcast: Display “Future of cellular agriculture with Anthony Chow – Agronomics” from YouTube Click here to display content from YouTube. Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube Open “Future of cellular agriculture with Anthony Chow …

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Meatable_Dumplings

© Meatable
Company News

Dutch Startup Meatable Joins APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture, Set to Pioneer Cultivated Pork in Singapore

Dutch cultivated pork startup Meatable announces it has joined the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA), becoming its newest member as of September 2024. APAC-SCA is a coalition of Asian cultivated meat and seafood companies advancing cell-based foods to meet the soaring animal protein demand in a bid to ensure food security and sustainability. The organization has opened its membership to companies based outside the APAC region, aiming to support those with business strategies in the area. Meatable has operations in Singapore, where its cultivated pork products, made in just four days, are pending regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), with hopes to launch between the end of this year and 2025. Meatable’s General Manager in Singapore, Aaron Yeo, now appointed member representative, …

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© MISTA
Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

MISTA Growth Hack Selects Biomass Fermentation as Key Theme for 2024

A unique collaboration of 14 early-stage food tech startups, eight leading global food companies, and key partners, including Accenture, the Good Food Institute, and SOSV, will be part of the 2024 MISTA Growth Hack. MISTA, a food innovation platform, and a Givaudan entity, aims to bring new sustainable ingredients and technologies to life to feed the planet. This year’s Growth Hack aims to develop integrated, nutritious, affordable, and sustainable foods, beverages, and snacks by enhancing biomass fermentation. This technology grows nutrient-dense microbial cells that can improve the nutritional and sensory performance of foods and beverages. “The food system needs new solutions to feed the 8.5 billion people that will populate the Earth in 2030,” said Céline Schiff-Deb, CSO for MISTA. “Fermentation biomass is an approach …

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Marinexcell Dr. Yossi Buganim

Dr. Yossi Buganim © Marinexcell
Interviews

Marinexcell: “Our Vision Is To Create a Sustainable and Reliable Source of Seafood Products”

Led by Professor Buganim, a globally renowned scientist in stem cell research, MarineXcell uses stem cells to cultivate shrimp, lobster, and crab meat. MarineXcell’s unique technology “addresses a significant bottleneck in the cultured seafood industry”, says the Israeli company: our methodology not only facilitates the creation of these cells but also ensures the sustained propagation and growth of iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells), even in sub-optimal conditions. What is MarineXcell’s value proposition? Why do you exist? MarineXcell is an innovative company supported by Yissum, the Tech Transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, that aims to revolutionize the seafood industry by developing a proprietary process for the mass production of genuine shrimp, lobster, and crab meat based on stem cells. Our vision is to …

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Dominic Jeong speaking

© Simple Planet
Interviews

Simple Planet: “It is a Way to Maintain Biodiversity Through Cell Culture and Reduce the Burden on the Earth”

South Korea’s leading cultivated meat company, Simple Planet, says it thrives on “leading the cell-based foods industry by reshaping food production platforms for the next generations”. Founded in 2022, the company has developed specialized cell lines from beef, pork, seafood, and chicken, and focuses on induced pluripotent stem cells “as an unlimited cell source for cell-based foods”. Simple Planet’s products include a high protein cultivated meat powder, animal fat paste, and customizable raw materials. After raising $6 million in an oversubscribed pre-series A round this February, Simple Planet was selected to participate in an ₩11 billion national project launched by South Korea’s government to expand the food tech industry, with plans to produce a cultivated fish cake.  We caught up with co-founder & CEO Dominic …

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California's Mission Barns has redesigned single-cell suspension bioreactors to make them fit for cultivating meat at scale.

© Mission Barns
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Mission Barns Revamps Single-Cell Suspension Pharma Bioreactors to Scale Cultivated Meat Production

Cultivated fat startup Mission Barns has engineered a new bioreactor to optimize cultivated meat production, aiming to replace the single-cell suspension bioreactors traditionally used in the pharmaceutical industry. “We’ve invented a novel bioreactor that allows us to scale the production of cultivated meat, whether it’s pork, beef, chicken, fat, or muscle,” Mission Barns explains in conversation with Cultivated X. Founded in Berkeley by Eitan Fischer, former director of cellular agriculture at fellow US food tech company Eat Just, Mission Barns’ first product is a cultivated pork fat called Mission Fat, set to transform analogs with new heights of taste and texture. To produce it, the company has developed a technology platform that starts from non-GMO adherent cells and grows them using an animal-free cell culture medium. The “right …

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Solar Foods plans to list on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland.

© Solar Foods
Company News

Solar Foods to List on Nasdaq, Bolstering Growth Plans for ‘Solein’ Air-Based Protein

Air-based protein developer Solar Foods announces plans to list on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. The listing is expected to occur in September as a technical listing without any share issue or sale. Based in Helsinki, the biotech has raised €69.6 million from various investors, including Fazer, Lifeline Ventures, Agronomics, CPT Capital, Voima Ventures, and various family office investment companies. According to the company, its more than 2,000 shareholders enable it to process the technical listing. In addition to private investments, Solar Foods has strong public financial support, securing €34 million from a potential €110 million grant. And this year, the company was granted the Nasdaq Green Equity Designation, making it the first Finnish private company to receive this recognition. Nasdaq Green Equity recognizes …

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Pluri develops cell-based coffee at industrial scale

© Pluri
Plant Cell Cultivation

Coffee Without Beans, Chocolate Without Cocoa – The Companies Making Plants from Cells (and why we need them)

Plant cell cultivation is revolutionizing the production of various crops by growing plant cells in controlled environments, such as bioreactors, to produce plant-based products. Why do we need plant cell cultivation technology? Demand for commodities like coffee and chocolate continues to grow as Earth’s populace continues to hurtle towards a figure of 9.8 billion projected for 2050. Meanwhile, the area of land suitable for growing such crops is rapidly shrinking. Plant cell cultivation bypasses the need for extensive farmland, reduces water usage, and minimizes environmental impact. With the ongoing effects of climate change and the increasing scarcity of arable land, these innovations are crucial for maintaining the future supply of essential crops. Around the world, innovators are creating methods which aim to ensure human beings …

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Abigail Stevens of PBWE

© PBWE
Interviews

PBWE: “Plant Based World Expo is the Platform to Support Business Growth in the Plant-Based Industry”

Plant Based World Expo is the only 100% plant-based B2B event to attract an audience of buyers and food and beverage professionals from across retail, foodservice, and public sector catering. This unique event will combine a world-class conference with an international exhibition of the biggest and best products in the market, as well as high-level networking and tasting opportunities. Abigail Stevens has worked directly with hundreds of brands, from startups to multi-million-dollar corporations, providing advice and helping to market their plant-based products. Utilising knowledge of the sector, she oversees all marketing activities and partnerships for Plant Based World Expo Europe and Plant Based World Expo North America. Can you share some of the key highlights and new features attendees can expect at the upcoming Plant …

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mosa meat logo world burger

© Mosa Meat
Investments & Finance

European Plant-Based, Fermentation & Cell-Cultivated Companies Received €289M in First Half of 2024

European plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cell-cultivated meat and dairy companies secured €289 million in investments during the first half of 2024, according to an analysis of Net Zero Insights data by the Good Food Institute Europe. Notably, companies producing fermentation-derived products raised €164 million — thus surpassing for the first time plant-based, which secured €79 million — including raises in the field of precision fermentation totalling €49 million. In the same period, European investments in cultivated meat reached €45 million, just under half of the total EUR 106 million invested in this sector throughout 2023. Notably, a significant portion of these funds was allocated to scaling up production, with Dutch company Mosa Meat raising €40 million. The German PHW Group, a long-time investor in alternative proteins, …

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Innocent Meat at University of Rostock

© Innocent Meat
Science

Rostock University Explores Use of Stem Cells for Meat Cultivation with Help from Innocent Meat

Rostock University Medical Centre in Germany is involved in research into cultivated meat in order to strengthen sustainable production and reduce agricultural emissions. The research project is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture as part of the innovation funding programme until 2025. The Clinic and Polyclinic for Cardiac Surgery, the Research Laboratory for Biomechanics and Implant Technology and the Orthopaedic Clinic and Polyclinic at Rostock University Medical Centre are researching the production of cell-based meat products that are free from genetically modified tissue together with local cultivated meat company Innocent Meat. “Rostock University Medical Centre has many years of experience in stem cell research and therefore has extensive scientific expertise, which can now also have important benefits for the food sector,” …

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