Nature’s Toolbox looks to advance cell free bioprocess platform

Nature’s Toolbox (NTx) has secured funding for a cell free platform it claims can make enough vaccine or biologic for 100 million people in 30 days.

Santa Fe, New Mexico-based NTx completed a $13 million series A funding round last week with venture capital organization Anzu Partners among the leading investors.

NTx said, “The new funding will be used to advance the company’s proprietary host-independent biological manufacturing and development platform used for pharmaceutical drug discovery and manufacturing of biologicals to counter disease.

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According to NTx’s website, the technology platform combines a cell-free expression system based on components extracted from thermophilic bacteria and continuous flow bioreactors.

NTx claims the system outperforms fermentation-based production processes used and has been proven to reduce turn-around times by a factor of 150.

The firm also claims the technology has a smaller physical footprint and can be operated at lower cost than current batch production processes.

100 million doses in 30 days

Co-founder Alex Koglin said, “Current production methods for biologics rely on E. coli enzymes for in vitro methods, or slower and more costly fermentation processes that are known to be challenged by consistency issues and inefficient in the production of clean, quality products of requisite purity.

“NTx has developed a completely novel recombinant cell-free biosynthesis platform, that is designed to drive and sustain syntheses for days, with the goal of allowing one person, using a single workstation, to produce enough of any single protein vaccine or biologic for 100 million people in a 30-day period.”

In addition to financing, NTx also announced it has received a $339,000 grant from the New Mexico Department of Economic Development’s Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP).

The funds will be used to help train 12 new employees that NTx plans to hire in the near term.