Consult any researcher who has worked with cell cultures: Contamination is a significant concern. Just one errant bacterium or fungal spore can ruin an entire experiment.
Now, consider the amplified risk in biomanufacturing, which employs living cells to produce various products, such as pharmaceuticals, food additives, and industrial materials. In this setting, contamination not only disrupts efficiency but can also pose a threat to public health if harmful microbes infiltrate medical products.
To mitigate such risks, companies often employ an aggressive strategy against contaminants, subjecting their machinery to intense steam sterilization. However, this method is expensive: generating steam requires significant energy, and equipment must be reinforced to endure the extreme temperatures and pressures encountered during the sterilization process.
“This strategy was initially developed by Pfizer in the 1940s for penicillin production,” noted Brian Heligman, co-founder and CEO of Biosphere, in an interview with TechCrunch. “If you look at the original systems, they bear a striking resemblance to those used today.”
Steam isn’t the sole sterilization method. Some opt for single-use reactors to cultivate cells, though this approach contributes to waste. UV light serves as another alternative; however, generating enough UV-C light—noted for its decontaminating capability—remained costly until recently. This has changed significantly, partly due to the COVID pandemic.
“The pandemic led to substantial investments in UV-C LED manufacturing,” Heligman explained. “In the coming decade, prices are expected to drop dramatically.”
Heligman and his team at Biosphere have dedicated the last two years to developing a three-liter glass benchtop bioreactor that can be completely sterilized using UV light. The reactor features four powerful LEDs that illuminate every corner of the chamber and its instruments. Currently, the startup is testing eight units as part of a $1.5 million initiative from the Department of Defense to discover new biomanufacturing methods for producing high-performance oils.
Utilizing LEDs could significantly reduce biomanufacturing costs, enabling the production of materials that were previously too expensive to create.
“As we simplify the complexities of these systems, we anticipate achieving a transformative reduction in costs,” Heligman stated.
“You can think of this as the electrification of the bioreactor,” he added, explaining that substituting costly stainless steel components with LEDs and cables could markedly lower expenses. Additionally, because these vessels won’t be subject to high temperatures and pressures, they could be constructed from more affordable materials like plastics for certain applications.
The company is now focused on constructing a pilot bioreactor with a capacity of approximately 100 liters that can utilize its sterilization technology. Following this, Heligman expressed interest in exploring designs capable of accommodating between 40,000 and 80,000 liters.
Biosphere has successfully raised $8.8 million in seed financing, led by Lowercarbon Capital and VXI Capital, as reported exclusively to TechCrunch. Other participating investors include B37 Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Founders Fund, and GS Futures.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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