Biodegradable Vitamin A from Capra Biosciences competes with traditional counterpart in market dominance
Capra Biosciences, a pioneering biotech company based in Sterling, Virginia, is set to reshape the $1.5 billion global market for retinol with its groundbreaking technology. The company's modular approach promises to compete effectively with petrochemical-based retinol production methods.
Dr. Andrew Magyar, Capra's Chief Technology Officer, is spearheading the company's efforts to expand production at their pilot plant this year. The aim is to generate meaningful sample quantities of retinol and establish a customer base, which will finance the construction of a larger scale facility.
Capra's technology leverages continuous fermentation and a modular bioreactor design. Continuous fermentation allows for uninterrupted production, increasing overall productivity and lowering labor and operational costs. The modular design facilitates scalability and flexibility, enabling efficient process optimization and easier maintenance or upgrades, thereby reducing capital expenditures and downtime.
The company's bioreactor design also allows for a modular scale-out process, reducing risks for large-scale production. This feature, combined with the technology's efficiency, typically contributes to cost-effectiveness by improving yield, reducing production time, minimizing resource waste, and allowing rapid scale-up to meet demand.
Capra's microbes are tolerant to solvents, enabling a continuous production process. Simplifying downstream processing by doing more upstream work on strain engineering is a key aspect of Capra's biomanufacturing process. Unwanted microbes are either damaged by the solvents or cannot gain a foothold in the reactor, reducing contamination issues.
Capra Biosciences' novel method for producing retinol in a biomanufacturing process offers the promise of a validated dedicated supply using a carbon source that can be readily sourced locally. The company's bacteria and yeast are efficient at producing retinol from various industrial side streams and waste products.
Dr. Magyar believes Capra Biosciences' model turns the traditional biomanufacturing rule of thumb on its head. The company is looking to have b2b sales with companies already in the marketplace for a faster path to market entry. Capra Biosciences is also developing a platform to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients, with a focus on domestic onshoring.
The company secured funding for its technology to reach pilot scale via a BioMADE Project Call with support from Schmidt Sciences. Capra Biosciences operates a 10,000 sq ft pilot plant in Sterling, Virginia, where the production of retinol is set to begin in earnest this year.
[1] For specific details about Capra Biosciences' technology, additional sources would be needed since the provided data is not directly available here.
Read also:
- California links 100,000 home storage batteries through its Virtual Power Plant program.
- Investment secured for Good Fashion Fund 2.0 to the tune of $60 million by FOUNT.
- Airbus Readies for its Inaugural Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Engine Test Flight of Mega Watt Class
- Air conditioning and air source heat pumps compared by experts: they're not identical, the experts stress
