Biosyntia has raised €4M in Series A financing from Sofinnova Partners to bring its microbe engineering technology closer to commercialization.
Biosyntia, based in Copenhagen, has raised €4M in Series A financing to continue developing its biosynthetic selection technology to produce complex compounds by fermentation. The funding was provided by Sofinnova Partners, a new investor and leading European life science VC, and Novo Seeds, an existing investor.
The company has focused its efforts on the production of vitamins, which are still predominantly produced chemically. According to Biosyntia, its approach can reduce the cost and time it takes to develop a bioprocess to produce vitamins. The vitamins can then be used in a variety of products, such as flavors and feed additives.
Biosyntia designs and engineers microbes to only grow if they produce the desired product in high quantities.
“When trying to find solutions to key bottlenecks, others look for the needle in the haystack by going through the haystack straw by straw. This requires time and extensive investments in equipment,” explains Martin Plambech, CEO of Biosyntia.
Other key players in the synthetic biology include Gingko and Zymergen. Like Biosyntia, both companies genetically engineer microbes to produce molecules to use in food, perfumes and industrial applications.
Synthetic biology may become to the 21st century what computers were to the 20th century by providing biological technology that can be customized to fit individual needs. As Biosyntia’s example highlights, the benefits of the field extend not only to medicine, but to nutrition and luxury products as well.
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