Bangalore, June 2nd, 2023: Fermbox Bio, a synthetic biology company that uses microbial precision fermentation for the sustainable and commercially viable production of bio-alternatives, announced its collaboration agreement with Dyadic International Inc, a NASDAQ:DYAI-listed global biotechnology company, in May. This marks Dyadic’s first collaboration with an Indian company for non-pharmaceutical applications on the Dapibus™ platform and will bring together Fermbox’s extensive product development and scale-up process engineering capabilities and Dyadic’s proprietary filamentous fungal-based microbial protein production platform to design, develop, and commercialize innovative animal-free alternative proteins and biomaterials.
“We are very excited to partner with Dyadic to bring our complementary skills to action and use its novel Dapibus™ platform to create alternative biomaterials that are not only sustainable but also economically viable. Our joint expertise across expression systems and execution capabilities from lab to large-scale manufacturing, uniquely positions us for success. We have a long-standing relationship with Dyadic leadership, and we believe that this co-development agreement can potentially accelerate the timelines for both companies to bring new and commercially viable bio-alternates to the market sooner,” commented Mr. Subramani (suBBu) Ramachandrappa.
Having operations both in the U.S. and in India, Fermbox is uniquely positioned to collaborate globally and use its advantage of access to Indian scientific talent and manufacturing capabilities locally. The partnership will allow Fermbox to leverage India’s expertise in gene expression and enzymatic pathway engineering to build highly productive microbial strains to develop a number of bioproducts. This capability, coupled with India’s strengths in low-cost manufacturing at industrial scale can propel the alternative protein sector, making India a viable supplier to the global industry. This collaboration is a milestone in the synthetic biology industry that has the potential to influence and inspire others to follow similar models to increase success rates for product development and viable commercialization.
“I am excited to announce this fully funded co-development and marketing agreement with Fermbox which is consistent with our business strategy of focusing on near-term commercialization opportunities that can create shareholder value,” said Joe Hazelton, Chief Business Officer of Dyadic. “Fermbox has extensive expertise in bio-alternatives development and microbial precision fermentation which we expect will accelerate our ability to exploit the Dapibus™ platform and expand Dyadic’s product offerings for non-pharmaceutical alternative proteins applications, such as food, nutrition, wellness, and other bioproducts. We anticipate this collaboration will enhance our market penetration into the alternative protein markets, while at the same time continuing to pursue our biopharmaceutical activities which are advancing at a rapid pace. We believe that this collaboration will further leverage our proprietary Dapibus™ platform toward developing and commercializing multiple end-market animal-free protein products.”
Expressing her support for this collaboration and the precedent that it has set, Nicole Rocque, Senior Innovation Specialist at The Good Food Institute (GFI) India says, “A co-development partnership of this kind highlights the emerging role India can play in the global SynBio industry, not just as a scale-up and manufacturing location but also by harnessing India’s research capabilities to develop future-proof technologies. As the global population rises and the need for nutritious and affordable food sources grow, India has the potential to be a leader in the development of sustainable alternatives that have the potential to feed a growing population while showcasing a model of growth for other emerging markets.” GFI India is the central expert organization, thought leader, and convening body of the smart protein sector in India.