Dublin’s Nuritas, a biotechnology company that includes U2’s Bono and The Edge as early investors, has secured $45 million in Series B, bringing its total raise to $75 million. The company has developed a peptide for skin health discovered in peas, and a peptide discovered in fava beans that supports muscle health, both due for market launch in 2022.
Nuritas states its mission is to “firstly manage and improve human health and secondly help make our food system more sustainable by replacing current unwanted ingredients and molecules with more natural and sustainable ones.”
The company claims it has established the world’s largest peptide knowledge base using a proprietary AI and genomics platform called Nπϕ™ (Nuritas Peptide Finder), which has attracted high-profile partnerships including Nestle, Mars, Sumitomo Corporation and Pharmavite. Its bioactive peptides are unlocked from plants and natural food sources, with applications across functional foods, supplements, medical food, cosmetics and food technology.
Nuritas also announces the growth of its Advisory Board to include Indra Nooyi, former CEO of Pepsico and board member at Amazon; Joerg Ohle of Bayer’s Global Consumer Health division; and Bruce German, professor and chemist of food science and technology at the University of California, Davis and the director of its Foods for Health Institute.
“It has been a landmark year, resulting in the expansion of our peptide portfolio, growing the commercial team and developing key global partnerships,” said Dr. Nora Khaldi, founder and CEO of Nuritas. “Our new investors bring a wealth of invaluable expertise, and this latest round will help to build our US headquarters, continue to expand our team, scale our platform to discover more life-changing ingredients and accelerate our route to market.”
The Series B round was led by Chicago-based Cleveland Avenue, LLC, and included Grosvenor’s Wheatsheaf Group, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Singapore-based Vertex Holdings, Nutresa Ventures/ Veronorte and CJ.
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