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It was pure coincidence, however months earlier than the pandemic took maintain all over the world, IndieBio — a startup accelerator dedicated to startups utilizing biology to unravel massive issues — expanded its remit, including a New York arm to the operations it was already working out of San Francisco. After all, it’s due to what the world endured that extra consideration than ever is being paid to life sciences startups, which is why we thought readers may desire a sneak peek on the latest batch of startups that IndieBio NY is getting ready to introduce to traders in roughly one month.
In the event you’re a founder or VC or just an business observer in search of insights into what’s effervescent up in a spread of associated areas, together with agriculture, diagnostics, carbon and methane upcycling, and most cancers therapeutics, try what the 9 groups have been engaged on.
A few of IndieBio’s earlier breakout startups embrace the cultivated meat firm Upside Meals (it raised $400 million final yr led by two sovereign wealth funds at a billion-dollar-plus valuation) and MycoWorks, an organization making leather-based out of fungi and that closed a $125 million Sequence C spherical final yr at an undisclosed valuation. One other firm in IndieBio’s portfolio to realize traction is NotCo, an outfit now additionally backed by Jeff Bezos and Kraft Heinz that licenses its tech to meals and beverage producers which wish to “veganize” a few of their merchandise.
Right here’s that fast snapshot of every:
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FREZENT Organic Options
FREZENT says it’s creating a novel class of bispecific antibodies for focusing on dormant most cancers cells which have survived chemotherapy and should trigger recurrence. Its method is to dam metabolism in dormant most cancers cells to stop their reactivation and survival. The workforce is at present centered on monoclonal antibody discovery and proof-of-concept research. Extra right here.
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Xias Bio Restricted
Based on Xias Bio, the three most vital proteins in skincare and haircare merchandise—collagen, keratin, and elastin—usually come from bovine hides, hen feathers, and meat processing byproducts (blech). Given rising considerations over greenhouse fuel emissions, water air pollution, and deforestation, a brand new technology of cosmetics customers desires to see the business exchange these animal proteins with sustainable alternate options and Xias Bio is catering to them. Particularly, it has developed a molecular platform for creating multi-functional, animal-free proteins to license. L’Oreal is already shopping for what it’s promoting; later, say the startup’s founders, the thought is to maneuver past cosmetics and exchange animal proteins in a number of different areas, together with in prescription drugs and the meals business.
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Earnest Agriculture
Earnest Agriculture says it has designed a microbial consortium that protects crops in opposition to ailments, pests, and drought whereas enhancing soil well being. Utilized as a seed coating, these patented microbes can increase yields by 7x, scale back artificial chemical use, and make crops extra resilient to local weather change, claims the outfit. Extra right here.
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BioMetallica
BioMetallica’s pitch is that tens of tens of millions of tons of electronics are discarded yearly, a lot of it incinerated, with billions of {dollars} of recoverable supplies up in smoke within the course of — to not point out the discharge of poisonous fumes. The startup’s eco-friendly resolution for recovering a few of these uncommon metals — palladium, platinum, and rhodium — is thru genetically modified micro organism that produce biogenic chemical substances that separate palladium group metals (PMGs) from e-waste, together with spent catalytic converters.
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Afynia
Afynia has created and patented a blood take a look at for diagnosing endometriosis early that returns a lead to days and — says the startup — might be provided by clinics and residential assortment kits starting subsequent yr. As with many ladies’s well being startups, the workforce’s endometriosis take a look at is just the start, if all goes as deliberate. The thought is to construct a digital platform that may present diagnostics, digital care, and prescription deliveries for endometriosis and different situations. Extra right here (be aware that the startup was initially named AIMA and hasn’t refreshed its web site simply but).
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Carbon Bridge
To fulfill EU emissions requirements, cargo operators are already ordering methanol-powered ships, however inexperienced methanol can’t compete with oil on value, which means adoption is gradual going. CarbonBridge‘s resolution to the problem is what it describes as a low-heat, low-pressure microbial course of that upcycles carbon dioxide and methane into liquid methanol utilizing a bioreactor. Extra, it says, it could supply the gasses inexpensively from over 16,000 wastewater therapy amenities within the U.S. that usually burn them off.
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Aequor
Aequor says it has found marine microbes that produce molecules that remove bacterial slime in minutes, and that utilized in water therapy amenities, its liquid focus can scale back standard chemical utilization by 90%, decrease vitality utilization by as much as 15%, and forestall slime from clogging filters and inflicting shutdowns. The larger ambition is to scale back the prices and environmental affect of water therapy whereas enabling larger entry to protected, inexpensive ingesting water. Extra right here.
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Unibaio
Farmers spend practically$230 billion yearly on herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers designed to extend crop yields, however the unintended penalties are well-documented and, effectively, not good. Unibaio says it has a greater various. Based on the corporate, it has developed a pure microparticle that may supercharge organic crop protectants by enabling them to penetrate vegetation extra effectively and scale back the quantity of standard chemical merchandise wanted by as much as 80%.
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Terra Bioindustries
Discarded meals accounts for 8-10% of greenhouse fuel emissions, because the founders of Terra Bioindustries will inform you; it’s why the corporate developed a platform for upcycling brewer’s spent grain, a beer byproduct that’s typically troublesome to promote. It really works by way of a low-energy enzymatic course of that separates the grain into edible sugars and proteins which are then bought to meals producers and precision fermentation firms. Through the use of business gear present in most meals processing amenities, adoption will be cheap, too. Extra right here.
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