Enzymit and Aleph Farms partner to reduce costs of cell-based meat

Business

Enzymit and Aleph Farms partner to reduce costs of cell-based meat

Phoebe Fraser

16 May 2023

Enzymit and Aleph Farms partner to reduce costs of cell-based meat

Israeli bioproduction company Enzymit has announced the successful development of insulin substituents, in partnership with Aleph Farms.

Using proprietary algorithms and throughput testing capabilities, Enzymit was able to develop a variety of insulin substituents and experimentally assess their functionality. Further screening resulted in several leading substituents that exhibited superior results in activity for cell culturing and required minimal concentration for activation.

These new proteins, which demand notably fewer downstream purification and maturation processes, have the potential to reduce the cost and development time for producing cultivated meat at scale.

A “prohibitive expense” in scaling up cultivated meat production is developing non-animal-derived serum protein mimetics that promote and support cell growth – these proteins are not widely available in the current market at the quantity, quality and cost necessary for large-scale production.

Aleph Farms and Enzymit have co-developed novel insulin substituents in microorganisms that are able to fulfil the function of proteins found naturally in animals, and with greater desired activity per molecule.

Neta Lavon, CTO of Aleph Farms, said: “Developing more suitable processing aids for the production of cultivated meat is imperative for driving economies of scale and taking cultivated meat mainstream. This innovation, combining Enzymit’s outstanding protein design and experimental capabilities with our team’s expertise in cellular agriculture, is helping to build the foundations for our sector to achieve cost-efficiency and long-term impact.”

According to Enzymit, as insulin is a conserved protein across mammals and other species, it has the potential to similarly influence the production of other cultivated meat types – not just cow cells – such as porcine, ovine and poultry.

Enzymit’s CEO, Gideon Lapidoth, commented: “With recombinant proteins currently accounting for the overwhelming majority of cell culture costs, creating highly stable and more active insulin substituents can markedly reduce the cost of growth media and increase efficiency in producing cultivated meat at scale.”

#AlephFarms #Enzymit #Israel

Aleph Farms to establish first European production facility in Switzerland

Aleph Farms has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The Cultured Hub to set up its first European production facility in Kemptthal, Canton Zurich.

World’s first cultivated meat farm begins design phase under €4m CRAFT project

The CRAFT Consortium has begun designing what it says will be the world’s first cultivated meat farm, aiming to integrate the technology directly into working farms.

Aleph Farms joins PETA’s ‘Eat Without Experiments’ programme

Israel-based cultivated meat company Aleph Farms has signed on to PETA’s new 'Eat Without Experiments' initiative, earning praise from the animal rights group for its commitment to avoiding animal testing.

Aleph Farms Secures $29m to propel cultivated steak production

Aleph Farms has successfully raised $29 million in funding aimed at advancing its production capabilities for whole-cut cultivated steak.