There has been a lot of hype around biomanufacturing in the past year. There is no synthetic biology without a bioreactor. While the world debates how best to bring biology- fueled manufacturing into existence, one company is already rethinking its most important instrument.
Stämm Biotech is developing a desktop-sized bioreactor that looks different from the tanks, tubes, and knobs typically seen in industrial or even benchtop bioreactors. The company just announced a $17 million Series A round, which brings the total raised to $20 million.
You have to know what a bioreactor looks like and what is going on inside it to get what St.E4;mm is doing. Industrial scale bioreactors are large tanks. Those tanks are filled with the medium needed to grow a certain type of cell or microorganism, which can either produce the desired product or be the product itself.
These cell cultures are stirred using a motorized instrument, kept at the correct temperature, and supplied with the right amount of oxygen to support their growth. This process can be done in a single-use bag, which will cut down on the time needed to re-sterilize a tank before you can grow something else.
The tank, stirring, and tubes have been cut out of the equation by Stämm. Instead, it is developing a unit that 3D prints a dense network of microchannels that pass cells through the nutrients and oxygen they need. The movement is stirring.
An example of a piece of art. There are places where cells, oxygen, and nutrients can be added.
The channels are designed using a software component. The process can be thought of as a contract development and manufacturing organization on the cloud, according to the co-founder and CEO of Stamm.
The will to develop a biological product and the abilities of tools that were out in the market were found to have been broken. He said that it inspired them to take ownership of the problem.
There is a lot of interest in the biomanufacturing space because of the idea that growing stuff in cells is the next wave of manufacturing, from pharmaceuticals to chemicals, textiles, fragrances, and even full cuts of meat.
One company that is bullish on both pharma and non-pharma applications is Ginkgo Bioworks, which reached IPO with a $15 billion valuation. The evidence of world-changing manufacturing is slowly leaking. As of writing, Ginkgo's market cap was closer to $7.24 billion.
The promise of biomanufacturing can't happen without the bioreactors. The approach to scale down the size of the reactor is being taken by Stämm.
There is a representation of the fluid flow through the piece.
The company claims to be able to reduce the size of a biomanufacturing facility by two orders of magnitude. It is operating on a smaller scale than most large bioreactors. The bioreactors can produce about 30 liters, which is less than the thousands seen at industrial scale. The company claims that its core concept can scale to about 5,000 liters.
The technology is still in the early stages of commercialization. The company is currently working with a European biopharma company that is focused on producing biosimilars. The company will move to apilot scale in 2022.
New partnerships are the major metric of success, said Llamazares.
Stämm is still working out some issues if you want to dive deeper into the business side of things. He didn't give a dollar figure when I asked about the cost of one of the units. He said that they are looking to get clients used to working with bioreactors instead of traditional machines. The price of machines and services isn't fixed yet.
He said that they are exploring diverse business models and interaction with clients.
Stämm plans to double its headcount and expand its international presence in this round. The tools needed to control the bioreactors will be further developed by the company.
New investors in the round include Varana, Vista, New Abundance, and the Decarbonization Consortium. Existing investors in the round include Draper Associates and Dragones VC.
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