New Wave Biotech has partnered with Multus to optimise biomanufacturing processes, achieving a remarkable 55% reduction in production costs for cultivated meat applications.

This collaboration underscores the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in driving efficiencies within the synthetic biology landscape, which is projected by McKinsey to reach a staggering $4 trillion annually over the next two decades.

Despite the promising potential of synthetic biology, high R&D costs have impeded the sector's growth. Bringing new alternative protein products to market can cost millions, while biopharmaceutical developments may require billions. As such, companies like Multus are focusing on cost reduction strategies to enhance their competitive positioning in the burgeoning market for cultivated meat and biopharmaceuticals.

Multus aims to make industrial biotech applications more economically viable by streamlining ingredient production processes. The company specialises in providing affordable and reliable media for cultivated meat production, which has traditionally been hindered by the high costs of bioprocess ingredients.

New Wave Biotech has introduced a hybrid modeling software that combines AI with mechanistic modeling, specifically targeting downstream processing – a critical but often overlooked area of R&D costs in synthetic biology. By leveraging this technology, Multus sought to enhance its purification systems and co-develop functionalities essential for scaling operations.

The collaboration commenced with New Wave designing a tailored work package for Multus, which included defining target production scales and addressing challenges like protein fouling. Utilising their Bioprocess Foresight platform, New Wave modeled Multus' existing processes, establishing a baseline for optimisation. This iterative approach involved four cycles of experimentation, where simulated data informed the development of optimised parameters for Multus to test.

Cultivated meat has the potential to transform the food industry, but its path to commercialisation is hindered by one critical challenge: basal media. To unlock scalability and affordability, the industry must overcome these hurdles. Read Cai Linton, CEO of Multus Biotechnology's piece on how basal media bottlenecks are stalling progress and how innovative solutions can pave the way.

The results of this partnership have been transformative. Multus reported an 8.6-fold increase in yield and a 37.4% reduction in processing time, significantly enhancing R&D efficiency. The ability of New Wave's software to adapt downstream processing parameters for specific batch outputs allowed for a more tailored approach, optimising production without requiring extensive data sets – achievements realised with just eight datasets.

Further, Multus has eliminated unviable processes early in development, thus accelerating R&D timelines and improving unit economics. The collaboration has not only reduced production costs to commercially competitive levels but also doubled product concentration, establishing a robust foundation for future scalability.

As Multus continues to refine its processes, there is potential for applying these advancements across different product lines. The integration of New Wave's new Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) functionality will further enhance Multus' understanding of cost structures, paving the way for more informed decision-making in product development.

Cai Linton, CEO and o-founder of Multus, noted the significance of this partnership: “Combining AI and real-world data collection to produce cheaper and more scalable growth media ingredients helps us put our customers one step closer to making widely available and affordable cultivated meat a reality”.

As the industry continues to mature, partnerships like that of New Wave and Multus will play a pivotal role in driving innovation, reducing costs and ultimately making sustainable food production more accessible.