Biodesign company Geltor announces the successful completion of the company’s first major commercial run for PrimaColl, a groundbreaking vegan collagen. In partnership with Arxada, Geltor says the 5-month operation concluded in Fall 2021, demonstrating the company’s ability to scale biodesigned proteins with exceptional speed and precision.
PrimaColl offers a high-protein bioactive collagen that matches animal collagen in amino acid composition, functionality and performance, the company says. Made by fermenting microbes using plant-based inputs, the product is reportedly the first true vegan collagen created for food and beverage.
Currently, virtually all collagen products are derived from animals, while plant-based “collagen builders” don’t actually contain the structural protein. PrimaColl is a high-purity product that makes collagen accessible to consumers who avoid animal-based supplements for various reasons, Geltor says.
A biotechnology feat
Geltor plans to release additional biodesigned ingredients in 2022. With the latest manufacturing success, the brand has increased its production capacity from tens of thousands of liters to millions of liters in only two years’ time. The company also reports a significant increase in its protein production yields.
“We are proud to be Geltor´s partner of choice to develop an innovative, sustainable and high yielding process to significantly scale up the production of PrimaColl for commercial availability,” stated Lukas von Hippel, Vice President, Head of Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) at Arxada.
By scaling PrimaColl, Geltor hopes to expand the global collagen market, expected to be worth $7.5 billion by 2027, by helping it become more inclusive of diverse consumer preferences.
“Biodesign is the future of manufacturing and the backbone of product innovation for a number of industries today,” said Geltor CEO and co-founder, Alex Lorestani. “Our team has been steadily scaling up our technology and manufacturing capabilities since our first proof of concept in 2016, and we’ve only begun scratching the surface of possibilities with biodesign enabling the greater availability of new materials. The commercial availability of PrimaColl® signals that it’s no longer a pipe dream, but a reality, that consumers can expect to see biodesigned ingredients on shelves in their favorite products.”
