Onego Bio: US-Finnish Biotech Produces Egg Protein without Using Animals and Receives New Investment
The precision fermentation scaleup recently secured a new round of funding of ¬14M / $15.2M to advance in the production of egg protein without using animals.
Onego Bio, a biotech dedicated to precision fermentation, secured u20ac14M / $15.2M in a new funding round from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Program and other Series A investors. Throughout 2024, Onego Bio has successfully raised a total of u20ac50.5M / $55M, bringing the company's total funding to about u20ac65M / $70.8M.
Their key is the production of Bioalbumen®, an industrial food ingredient that Onego offers, which is bio-identical egg protein with a stable supply, full functionality, perfect protein quality, and neutral taste, while having the potential to alleviate the environmental burden by approximately 90%, as it does not use animals.
Onego employs a patented fungal fermentation technology that is highly productive and scalable, demonstrating industrial production potential and enabling competitive pricing compared to conventional egg production methods.
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A single large-scale manufacturing unit of Onego will have a fermentation capacity of two million liters, effectively providing the protein equivalent produced by six million laying hens.
EXPANSION TO THE U.S. AND E.U.
As a US-Finnish company, Onego is moving full speed ahead with commercialization in North America, where the regulatory landscape allows for quicker market entry.
The company is on track to submit a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notice to the FDA this year, hoping to receive a "no objections" letter from the regulatory agency by 2025.
The funding recently obtained from the EIC will boost the company's market access plan also in the EU, including obtaining regulatory approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Maija Itkonen, CEO and co-founder of Onego Bio, commented, "The new funding and immense support from our investors demonstrate their confidence in our vision and the potential of innovations like Bioalbumen® to build a more sustainable system."
He added that, "It also shows that the EU recognizes precision fermentation as a solution to address sustainability issues and enhance food safety in Europe and around the world. However, to remain competitive and fully capture the potential of exceptional European research and innovation, the regulatory approval process needs to be expedited, as the EU is currently lagging in this area compared to other regions."
European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Program
Onego Bio was selected to receive funding from the EIC out of a highly competitive group of 969 applicants, of which 347 companies were interviewed by juries of experienced investors and entrepreneurs, with only the top 68 receiving funding.
The EIC Accelerator only selects startups or SMEs with a high-impact product, service, or business model that demonstrate the potential to scale and create new markets or disrupt existing ones in Europe and around the world.
In the 2024 work program, the EIC identified precision fermentation as an area where innovative technologies or groundbreaking innovations can have a significant impact in improving the sustainability, efficiency, and resilience of the European food supply chain by decoupling food production from soil and minimizing environmental impacts, including water pollution.
Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from the VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland), Onego is already working with large food companies in the formulation of products in a wide range of items, from baked goods, confectionery, snacks, sauces, pasta, meat alternatives and more.
With business operations in San Diego, California, the company is currently producing Bioalbumen® with co-manufacturers while finalizing plans for its first self-owned manufacturing unit.
Source: With press information from Onego Bio.