Synthetic biology is defined as the application of engineering principles to biology, most commonly through DNA manipulation. Synthetic biology startups are on the rise and producing everything from painkillers to alternative meat. The funding of synthetic biology startups has more than tripled in the last five years, topping $1 billion for the first time in 2016.
Here are 20 of the top innovative synthetic biology startups in the US chosen by us at Scispot:
CEO and Director - Mark Gergen
Located in San Diego, California, Poseida Therapeutics is focused on developing life-saving therapeutics for patients with a high unmet medical need using non-viral gene engineering technology. It has a pipeline of autologous and allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell, or CAR-T, with an initial focus on hematological and solid tumors.
CEO - Aoife Brennan
Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Synlogic creates Synthetic Biotic medications using their proprietary drug discovery and development platform. These medications are intended to digest a harmful molecule, compensate for missing or impaired metabolic pathways, or deliver therapeutic combinations. SYNB1618 is the company's main product candidate, an oral medicine for the treatment of PKU, a rare metabolic illness.
Sr. Director - Jerod Ptacin
Located in La Jolla, California, Synthorx is dedicated to helping individuals with cancer and autoimmune illnesses live longer and better lives. By introducing a new DNA base pair to the genetic code, the company's proprietary platform technology expands the genetic code. THOR-707, a version of IL-2 engineered to kill tumor cells, is the company's flagship product candidate
CEO - J. Robert Coleman
Located in Farmingdale, New York, Codagenix develops live-attenuated viral vaccines with target antigens embedded in an attenuated backbone virus. The company's vaccines are based on Synthetic Attenuated Virus Engineering (SAVE), which is based on synthetic biology and re-designed for the full genome to yield a vaccine strain, allowing researchers to develop viral vaccines to treat diseases such as dengue fever and polio.
Co-Founder & CEO - Paul Dabrowski
Located in Menlo Park, California, Synthego has developed a precision genome engineering platform with the goal of speeding up and optimizing the drug discovery research process. Using informatics and machine learning, the platform automates genome engineering so that scientists can perform fast, cost-effective and accurate analyses.
CEO - Karsten Temme
Located in Berkeley, California, Pivot Bio uses synthetic biology to create microbial nitrogen fertilizers as a replacement for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. These fertilizers help farmers grow crops that can take and metabolize nitrogen from the environment, decreasing the need for petrochemical fertilizers, lowering farming costs, and improving health.
CEO - Mark Wong
Located in Woburn, Massachusetts, Agrivida aims to generate enzymes and other proteins inside corn kernels. The company's platform allows poultry and swine market clients to integrate beneficial enzymes such as phytase and glucanase into animal diets, reducing negative environmental impact and producing healthier food as a result.
President - Dennis Woodside
Located in Redwood City, California, Impossible Foods is a plant-based meat manufacturer that incorporates natural components into their food. The company's products are made using a blend of plant-based nutrients such as lipids, amino acids, and vitamins. These help mimic the texture and flavor of traditional beef, giving buyers a healthy meat and dairy alternative.
Founder & CEO - Derek Greenfield
Located in Alameda, California, Industrial Microbes has developed a green fermentation platform that works by converting greenhouse gasses into industrial chemicals and materials. The platform utilizes microorganisms to convert methane and carbon dioxide into valuable, adaptable building-block chemicals that are used in fuels and biodegradable plastics.
Co-Founder and CEO - Alexander Lorestani
Located in San Leandro, California, Geltor aims to provide a variety of designer proteins that are biocompatible, functional, and have other advantages. The products created are animal-free, scientifically demonstrated for high performance and sustainably cultivated.
Co-Founder and CEO - Ryan Pandya
Located in Berkeley, California, Perfect Day produces animal-free milk alternatives and proteins that are nutritionally equivalent to cow's milk protein. The company's manufacturing technique uses yeast fermentation of plant-based sugars and nutrients. These nutrients are vegan,free of antibiotics and lactose-free.
CEO & Co-founder - Maddie Hall
Located in San Francisco, California, Living Carbon's founding principle is to improve CO2 capture and storage in trees in order to combat climate change.
The company focuses on photosynthesis enhancement, photorespiration inhibition, increased growth rate and shortening the tree growth cycle.
CEO - Vishaal B. Bhuyan
Located in Brooklyn, New York, Aanika creates customizable microbial-based tags for tracking, tracing, and authenticating products across the supply chain. These microbes are placed on an agricultural product and act as a microscopic barcode throughout the product's supply chain journey.
COO & Cofounder - Stephen Lomnes
Located in Green Island, New York, MyForest Foods aims to develop and manufacture plant-based whole cut meats. The company's new agricultural technology is powered by mycelium. This is intended to solve global meat problems while also being a delicious alternative to animal meat.
CEO - James Rogers
Located in Goleta, California, Apeel uses natural materials found in the peels and pulp of produce to create an extra coating that helps seal in moisture and keep oxygen out. Their goal is to double the shelf life of fruits and vegetables without the need for refrigeration while retaining freshness and nutritional value.
CEO - Dan Widmaier
Located in Emeryville, California, Bolt Threads uses biology and traditional textile production techniques to create new products using textile waste. Their products include Microsilk, a textile made from the same proteins as spiderwebs, and Mylo, an alternative to leather made by engineering mycelium —a network of fungal threads that grows underground.
Chief Digital & Operational Excellence Officer - Marcello Damiani
Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moderna has become a household name. The company's mRNA technology was validated with its COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved in the United States in December 2020. As of early 2022, Moderna had 44 mRNA development programs, with 25 in clinical trials. These programs are designed to treat several therapeutic areas, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and rare genetic diseases.
CEO & Founder - Emily Leproust
Located in South San Francisco, California, Twist Bioscience uses its DNA synthesis platform to use a proprietary semiconductor-based synthetic DNA manufacturing process that synthesizes DNA on silicon rather than traditional plastic well plates. This allows researchers to produce high-quality synthetic DNA faster and more affordably.
CEO - Eric Steen
Located in Berkeley, California, Lygos uses its platform to generate microbial catalysts and specialized chemicals. Using a high-throughput combination of computational modeling, unique microbe engineering, and deep learning, Lygos is on a mission to find and develop new bio-routes to chemicals.
Founder - Harshal Chokhawala
Located in San Leandro, California, Zymochem develops microbes that prevent carbon loss during chemical manufacturing. It creates biosynthetic pathways, novel microbes, and cost-effective bioprocesses for converting sugars and other bio-based feedstocks into industrial chemicals used in the manufacturing of consumer products.
Scispot is on a mission to empower bioentrepreneurs, particularly in the synthetic biology space and make workflow automation possible for every life science lab on this planet. To learn more about Scispot and its no-code digital toolkit for lab digitalization and automation, book a demo here.
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