- BiomEdit acquired Folium Science’s technology platform and pipeline assets; financial terms were not disclosed.
- The transaction adds Folium’s Guided Biotics® CRISPR-Cas technology to BiomEdit’s existing microbiome engineering capabilities.
- BiomEdit also gains BiomElix One, an animal feed additive approved by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
- The acquisition gives BiomEdit two advanced poultry programs based on different precision microbiome technologies.
- BiomEdit’s existing lead candidate, BE-101, is being developed to prevent mortality associated with necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens.
- BE-101 is in the final stages of the conditional licensure process with the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics, according to the company.
Animal health biotechnology company BiomEdit has acquired Folium Science’s technology platform and pipeline assets in a transaction that expands BiomEdit’s capabilities in precision microbiome technology and adds an approved poultry feed additive to its portfolio.
The acquisition includes Folium’s Guided Biotics CRISPR-Cas technology and BiomElix One, which has been approved by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) for use as an animal feed additive.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Two approaches to precision microbiome technology
BiomEdit is developing what it calls Programmable Veterinary Biologics, genetically engineered bacterial biologics designed to perform targeted biological functions in animals.
Folium’s Guided Biotics technology takes a different approach. According to BiomEdit, the CRISPR-Cas platform is designed to selectively target specific bacterial populations within the microbiome while preserving the broader microbial community.
The acquisition therefore gives BiomEdit two complementary technological approaches: engineering beneficial bacteria to perform specific functions and selectively targeting bacterial populations within an animal’s microbiome.
“One approach engineers beneficial bacteria to perform targeted biological functions; the other selectively targets specific bacterial populations within the microbiome,” BiomEdit CEO Aaron Schacht said in the announcement. “Together, these scientific approaches give us a broader set of tools to address important animal health and production challenges.”
Acquisition expands poultry pipeline
The transaction also leaves BiomEdit with two advanced poultry product programs based on separate precision microbiome technologies.
BiomEdit’s lead candidate, BE-101, is being developed for the prevention of mortality associated with necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens.
According to the company, BE-101 is in the final stages of the conditional licensure process with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Veterinary Biologics.
The Folium acquisition adds BiomElix One, providing BiomEdit with a product that has already received regulatory approval in Brazil as an animal feed additive.
The combination expands BiomEdit’s pipeline across both animal health and nutrition while providing the company with another technology for developing microbiome-based products.
“By combining these complementary technologies in one platform, we can both engineer beneficial microbes to perform specific biological functions and selectively reshape microbial communities,” Schacht said. “This broader toolkit expands our ability to design precise, differentiated solutions that improve animal health and productivity.”
Folium Science co-founder Ed Fuchs said the transaction provides Folium’s technology with the development capabilities needed to advance its potential applications in animal health.
Information sourced from the company’s press release.
