Icelandic Company ORF Genetics Secures Funding to Scale Growth Factors for Cultivated Meat Production

In a noteworthy development for the cultivated meat sector, ORF Genetics, an Icelandic molecular farming firm, has successfully raised $5 million to bolster the production of growth factors critical for cell culture media. This funding comes at a time when the cultivated meat industry is grappling with a significant decline in investment, but CEO Berglind R.

N. L. remains optimistic about the future. She asserts that cultivated meat will undoubtedly play a vital role in the evolving food system, with the pivotal question shifting to the timing and speed of market growth.

Speaking with industry insiders, R. N. L. emphasized that the success of a handful of companies achieving commercial scale could create substantial demand for their growth factors.

The firm is already supplying key players, including the Australian startup Vow, while also engaging with numerous cultivated meat companies worldwide. R. N. L. noted that many of these enterprises are thriving, showcasing impressive technical platforms and innovative products in development.

With plans to expand their funding round by the end of October, ORF Genetics aims to attract new investors eager to support its vision of a pivotal player in a high-potential market. While some in the industry have optimized their cell lines to operate with fewer growth factors, R.

N. L. cautioned that developing entirely growth factor-free methods could be costlier and riskier compared to utilizing affordable mesokine, the company's flagship product.

The newly secured funds will significantly enhance production capacity for mesokine—by 14 times by 2027 and a staggering 10,000 times by 2032. Growth factors, which are signaling proteins that stimulate cell growth and differentiation in cultivated meat production, are traditionally produced through precision fermentation, a process that can be expensive. This has spurred companies to explore alternative production methods, with ORF Genetics favoring barley as a sustainable host.

Founded in 2001, ORF Genetics has evolved from focusing on human growth factors for stem cell research to expanding its expertise into the realms of medical diagnostics, cosmetics, and now cultivated meat. The firm's mesokine brand currently offers a range of bovine, avian, and porcine growth factors, with fish varieties on the horizon.

R. N. L. highlighted the company's growing portfolio, which now encompasses around twenty different growth factors.

Utilizing inexpensive geothermal energy, ORF Genetics cultivates barley hydroponically in greenhouses, while also conducting open-field trials in Canada. Barley presents an ideal candidate for genetic engineering due to its non-invasive nature and self-pollinating varieties. This approach not only reduces environmental impact but also lowers production costs, making barley a highly scalable protein factory.

In contrast to conventional fermentation methods, the extraction of growth factors from barley is less intensive, as these proteins do not require rigorous purification for use in cultivated meat production. The inclusion of some native barley proteins alongside recombinant proteins enhances the efficacy and safety of mesokine products, which are derived from a crop already consumed widely by humans. By offering a sustainable, cost-effective solution, ORF Genetics positions itself at the forefront of the burgeoning cultivated meat industry.