NEW TECH FOODS

Lübeck, Germany-based firm CellTec has received a further €10 million in funding from its anchor investor, the FML Family Foundation.

CellTec Systems is a biotech firm dedicated to enabling the production of biomass from cultured cells as a sustainable raw material source for various industrial sectors.

The company is ‘Germany's first’ complete provider for industrial cell production, supplying all components for successful cell proliferation, isolation protocols, growth and nutrient systems, bioreactors and training and consulting services.

The investment will enable the company to expand – it plans to extend its laboratory space with another fully equipped location in Lübeck. This will enable better collaboration with the University of Lübeck, with which CellTec has had a cooperation agreement since its founding. Additionally, the interdisciplinary team expects to grow to 30 employees.

Frank Michael Loh, chairman of the FML Foundation, stated: "I am convinced that we need to take new paths for the future challenges we face in the industry. This includes the search for high-quality, sustainably producible raw materials. The use of cell cultures has been steadily increasing in many areas.”

He continued: “Just look at applications for biological test systems, medical or pharmaceutical developments and not least, advancements in food production, to name a few. In all these fields, more and more cell-based products will emerge, many of which we cannot yet foresee. Therefore, the FML Family Foundation believes that investing in this area is highly promising. We believe that the future is cell-based!"

Former head of the Lübeck Fraunhofer Institute for Marine Biotechnology and Cell Technology, and co-founder of CellTec, Charli Kruse, commented: “We are pleased to take another step in the development of CellTec. The significant increase in our founding investor's participation shows how promising our prospects are! Many of our developmental advances are impressive, enabling us to equip other companies with our technology even now.”

Kruse concluded: “Industrial cell proliferation can be used for a variety of applications, not only for food production but also, for example, for the rapid and cost-effective production of vaccines. As pioneers in this industry, we are at the forefront technically and scientifically, and we can further develop more products to bring them to market readiness.”

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