Spanish biotech firm Cocoon Bioscience has inaugurated its new plant at the Bizkaia Technology Park in Derio, Spain.

The plant will specialise in the manufacturing of Cocoon’s recombinant proteins and is the ‘world’s first’ industrial-scale plant that produces these proteins using living bioreactors. The high-performance growth factors are designed for use in the alternative protein industry, specifically in cell-based meat.

Founded in 2022, Cocoon has scaled its unique technology: an automated platform that utilises insects in their chrysalis stage as high-efficiency, low-cost natural bioreactors. This method is more natural, scalable and accessible compared to traditional fermentation methods using bacteria, which relies on stainless steel bioreactors.

The new plant is strategically located in Spain’s Bizkaia biotechnology park, in the Basque biotechnology cluster. Spanning 4000-square-metres and with 2300-square metres designated for production, the facility has the capacity to generate an annual output of 5kg of recombinant protein, with the potential to increase capacity beyond 20kg.

Cocoon Bioscience's recombinant proteins are an efficient and economically viable alternative for supplying reagents (growth factors) to various industries including cultivated meat, mRNA therapies and vaccines and gene sequencing.

Cocoon’s Crisbio technology is based on inoculating a pupae with a baculovirus, which introduces the desired genetic sequence into the insect’s cells. This baculovirus is harmless to mammals and enables the pupae to naturally produce the desired recombinant protein in just three to six days.

To manufacture the recombinant proteins, Cocoon Bioscience uses pupae of Trichoplusia ni – a medium sized moth also known as a cabbage looper.

Cocoon’s growth factor portfolio offers a range of animal-free proteins, designed specifically to support the cultivated meat industry by providing essential elements for cell growth and tissue development. While it can develop species-specific growth factors, its current portfolio includes:

• FGF-2 (Fibroblast growth factor-2, bovine): Critical for cell proliferation and tissue regeneration, this growth factor accelerates muscle cell growth, making it essential for cultivated meat production

• PDGF (Platelet-derived growth factor, porcine): Known for its role in promoting cell growth and differentiation, PDGF is particularly effective in the development of connective tissues, a key component in achieving the texture and structure of real meat

• TGF-β1 (Transforming growth factor beta-1, bovine): TGF-β1 (which is still in development) regulates cell growth and differentiation, aiding in the formation of tissue by guiding cell signalling processes, ensuring that cultivated meat tissues develop correctly and consistently

The firm has also developed human-derived growth factors – including FGF-2 (human), EGF (human), PDGF (human) and is currently developing TGF-β1 (human) – which are primarily designed for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and cell therapy, and are used to promote human cell proliferation, differentiation and tissue repair.

Cocoon Bioscience's CEO, Josh Robinson, said: “The Crisbio technology allows us to produce these recombinant proteins on a more natural, faster and thus more accessible scale. This represents a tremendous advancement for the biopharmaceutical and food industries."

Romy Dalton, COO of Cocoon Bioscience, commented: "After years of research and work, seeing that we have been able to scale this up signifies a major achievement in terms of production, and therefore for society, excites us and motivates us even more to continue growing."

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