ENPICOM B.V., an innovative bioinformatics software engineering company delivering ground-breaking products and customized solutions to decode the immune system and improve human health, announced the company has entered into a service agreement with Neogene Therapeutics to grant the company access to ENPICOM’s cloud-based IGX Platform to manage, organize, and analyze T cell sequencing data. ENPICOM has additionally developed a number of customizations making sure that the platform’s functionality fits Neogene’s specific data handling workflow to help Neogene’s research team leverage the full potential of their immune repertoire data.

“We are extremely proud to add Neogene Therapeutics to our IGX Platform customer base. Their recent $110 million Series A shows how important this new type of immunotherapy has become in the last few years,” stated Jos Lunenberg, CEO of ENPICOM.

Dedicated to developing personalized neoantigen T cell receptor (TCR) therapies for cancer, Neogene Therapeutics extensively studies immune repertoires of cancer patients by high-throughput T cell sequencing in order to identify T cell receptor genes with therapeutic value. Personalized neo-antigen TCR therapy is a novel approach to cancer treatment, where a patient’s T cells are genetically engineered with neoantigen specific TCR genes to enable them to identify and destroy tumor cells.

Dr. Carsten Linnemann, CEO of Neogene Therapeutics, added: “ENPICOM and the Neogene team have been collaborating for several years on various projects. ENPICOM has always been a thoughtful and highly reliable partner. It is a pleasure to utilize their innovative and unique IGX Platform.”

Since immune repertoire sequencing implies the generation of large amounts of data, there is a need for specific expertise to efficiently manage and fully exploit the potential of the data collected. ENPICOM’s IGX Platform provides Neogene with an efficient solution to manage and annotate T cell sequencing data.

The IGX Platform comes with powerful data management features and an intuitive user interface out of the box. Its modular, flexible structure allows for further enhancements and customizations. The custom robust workflow of the IGX Platform uniquely positions it to support high-throughput studies required to power Neogene’s research in personalized T cell therapies.

Source: Enpicom (Press release)

UK biotech company, Deep Branch, has secured further investment to scale up the sustainable generation of protein that could transform food production and supply chains. 

Complementing the REACT-FIRST project, the company is turning industrial emissions into novel protein sources for animal feed and now, with European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator funding of €2.5 million the company will be able to scale up the production process. The funding will go towards building a new facility at the Netherlands-based Brightlands Chemelot Campus, a hub for circular chemistry and chemical processes, which Deep Branch expects to be operational by Q2 2021. 

Using microbes to convert CO2 from industrial emissions, into a new type of single-cell protein, called Proton™, Deep Branch has developed a low carbon animal feed with a nutritional profile that is comparable with fishmeal, the gold-standard protein source in aquafeed. However, unlike fishmeal, Proton™ can be produced year-round, reducing the impact of any seasonal fluctuations in price or yield.  

The REACT-FIRST project supported by grant funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency is the first-of-its-kind.  It brings together 10 consortium partners from industry and academia that share a commitment to tackling the global climate crisis and achieving net zero carbon emissions in the food production industry. Extensive research and testing will help the partners to gather valuable data about the cost, digestibility, nutritional quality and carbon footprint of Proton™.

Working with renewable power company, Drax, as well as a consortium of industry leading partners, the technology has already been proven on a smaller scale. This latest funding will enable Deep Branch to scale up increasing production to enable animal feed manufacturers to expedite performance testing of the new protein.   

Deep Branch was one of only two UK companies to be shortlisted for the EIC programme.

Peter Rowe, CEO of Deep Branch, said: “In the UK, and in Europe, poultry and farmed fish are usually fed on fishmeal and soy, which is mainly imported from South America and has a huge environmental impact. We are developing a new, sustainable way of producing animal feed, which reduces CO2 emissions by more than 90 percent, compared to the currently used protein sources. 

“Setting up the pilot plant represents an important next step in finding the perfect recipe for Proton™ that meets the requirements of feed producers. We’ll be undertaking further trials with BioMar and AB Agri, two leading animal feed companies that support the salmon and poultry farming industries. Thanks to the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation support, we can expand our production capacity to match the volumes that feed producers need to run these trials.

“Brightlands Chemelot Campus is the ideal location for our Scale-Up Centre, and there is a clear alignment between our goals and the facility’s overall ambitions for CO2 recycling and sustainable hydrogen use. The industrial site gives us the ability to scale up quickly and has room for a large-scale production facility as well as the raw materials to create Proton™. We have access to everything we need.”

Bert Kip, CEO of Brightlands Chemelot Campus, said: “Deep Branch fits into our sustainable profile perfectly, and is the first organization at this campus that is active in gas fermentation. This is another area where we can develop a leading position.”

Source: Deep Branche Biotechnology (Press release)

The Protein Brewery, an innovative developer of protein-rich food ingredients, replacing animals in the food chain, today announces that it has raised a € 22 million Series A investment, bringing its total funding to date to € 26 million. The new investment round was led by Novo Holdings, joined by new investors Roquette Ventures and Unovis Asset Management. This diverse set of investors comprise global expertise in life-science and plant-based ingredients, a true focus on sustainable fermentation processes and a widespread, relevant network.

​The Protein Brewery was founded in January 2020, resulting from a demerger of BioscienZ, an industrial biotechnology company developing new technologies based on microbial fermentation as a core competence. It was founded in 2010 by Wim de Laat, a molecular scientist with over 30 years’ experience in industrial fermentation. The Series A funding will enable The Protein Brewery to continue its R&D, cover operational costs as well as scaling up production of the Fermotein™ food ingredient. The Protein Brewery has already gained a lot of experience from smaller scale production of Fermotein™.

Integrating alternative proteins that successfully deliver on sustainable development goals is essential to feed a growing world population while taking care of the future of our planet and its people. The current global food market amounts to approximately €6.5 trillion. With Fermotein™, The Protein Brewery is well positioned to enter a €30 billion-plus market for alternative proteins, a market with huge growth potential. Fermotein™ will be available in both wet ‘cake’ product, as well as a dry powder form. The wet product can be used in applications such as meat alternatives or processed meats, while the dry version can be used as a food ingredient for a great variety of products including pasta, bakery products, protein bars, shakes, chocolate and ice cream. Due to the innovative nature, the Fermotein™ product requires regulatory approval for application as a food ingredient. The Protein Brewery is already in the application process for the US and European markets, with regulatory approval anticipated in 2021 in the US and 2022 in Europe.

Fermotein™ production technology comprises a unique combination of The Protein Brewery’s proprietary microorganisms (‘fungi’) combined with a highly cost-effective and easy-to-operate brewing process. This resulted in a food ingredient with an excellent nutritional profile and an amino acid composition similar to conventional meat. With Fermotein™’s unparalleled characteristics, such as using only 1% of land, 3% of CO2 and 5% of water compared to the use of land and water in the beef industry, it has one of the lowest ecological footprints of all proteins – animal-based and animal-free. Fermotein™ can be produced from a large variety of globally available, carbohydrate-rich, water-efficient and non-allergic crops such as casava, corn, potatoes, sugar beet and sugar cane, allowing for commercialization around the globe. Local production of proteins from local crops is a key competitive advantage to offer sustainable proteins on the market.

Wim de Laat, founder of The Protein Brewery:
“Providing food for a population of 10 billion people by 2050 demands alternative scenarios.
By continuously driving new technologies we are able to face such challenges. It is an important driver in our mission to contribute to a more sustainable world, developing novel ways of producing food proteins using fermentation technologies.
The financial support and domain expertise of the investors in The Protein Brewery, are key milestones in executing our goals even more rapidly and broadly. It provides headway to take the next important step and move towards the realization of a pilot plant, demonstrating the process, the properties and benefits of our innovative and nutritious food ingredient. It is paramount in the development of our company to continue the journey with committed shareholders who share the know-how, drive and enthusiasm for producing natural based food.”  

Thomas Grotkjær, Principal at Novo Holdings:
“On behalf of the syndicate I would like to share our excitement of being involved in The Protein Brewery and their breakthrough fermentation technology. The Fermotein™ product is nutritious, has a very sustainable profile, and is applicable to a wide range of products demanded by consumers. With this product, the company is entering a fast-growing alternative proteins market. We look forward to grow the company commercially with Wim and his team and the other investors.”

The Protein Brewery meets the criteria the investors look for in an investment in this space, while the investors’ experience makes it a strong syndicate for The Protein Brewery.
Roquette Ventures, investment company and liaised with a specialist food producer, has a strategic focus on innovative ways to feed the future, while unlocking the potential of nature.
Unovis Asset Management, an experienced investor in alternative proteins, seeks opportunities that disrupt conventional animal agriculture, while providing wellness to all living beings. Novo Holdings, a scientifically driven investor with deep knowledge of fermentation processes, is especially interested in the state-of-the-art quality The Protein Brewery offers, which is superior to all current options in the marketplace.

Besides representation of the existing investors and Wim de Laat as a founder, the new investors will each be represented in the Supervisory Board; Thomas Grotkjær of Novo Holdings, Edouard Nuttin of Roquette Ventures and Kim Odhner of Unovis Asset Management.

Source: The Protein Brewery (Press release)