ZERO and KBio join forces for the first Molecular Farming network
N. benthamiana
LONDON and VENICE, Italy, August 1, 2023 – KBio, one of the leading developers of new biological treatments derived from a plant-based production system, and ZERO, an Italian agtech company specialized in building and operating next-generation controlled growing environments, today announced an exclusive strategic alliance to build the world’s first transportable globally distributed plant-based molecular farming network to include therapeutic, pandemic preparedness and bioactive ingredient production. KBio and ZERO plan to design and build a portfolio of tailored end-to-end solutions aimed at leveraging KBio’s expertise on N. benthamiana as a bioreactor in combination with ZERO’s automated, modular and contamination-free vertical plant growing setup. Importantly, these solutions will have the flexibility to be rapidly deployed worldwide in emergency situations or to operate in large, centralized hubs capable of offering commercial supply and CDMO services to multi-sector customers.
“What makes KBio a world leader in the plant-based production of biologics is that our platform allows for the development of highly pure proteins at a higher efficiency and lower cost compared to current technologies,” said Patrick Doyle, chief executive officer at KBio. “We plan to facilitate joint R&D activities with ZERO in the United States, UK and Italy that will involve the production of monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and various bio-industrial products with B2B applications in the food, nutraceutical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors. We’re excited to be collaborating with ZERO on leveraging each company’s respective capabilities to develop plant-based solutions using a broad spectrum of modalities in a variety of spaces.”
Daniele Modesto, chief executive officer at ZERO, added, “ZERO’s proprietary hardware and software technologies enable a substantial advantage in terms of productivity, installation speed, scalability and cost-effectiveness compared to the industry average. With this strategic alliance, ZERO plans to integrate KBio's technologies in all of its commercial farms in Europe, GCC, SEA and North America to enable an immediate response to pandemic emergencies with the rapid production of antibodies and vaccines. We look forward to working with KBio on utilizing our state-of-the-art vertical farming technology in combination with their plant-based platform to achieve our joint mission of rapidly developing new solutions to benefit people’s lives on a global scale.”
About KBio
KBio aims to create a new generation of biologics using its plant-based platform, which has demonstrated the ability to create drug candidates at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional platforms. The Company is focused on discovering monoclonal antibodies targeting validated pathways for rare and infectious diseases and due to the speed and accuracy of its antibody production system, is positioned well to develop fast follower therapies against validated drug targets. KBio’s plant-based platform also has unique capabilities for addressing public health challenges where rapid development and large-scale production of vaccines are critical. Through a third-party partner, the Company is working with several health organizations that are funding its public health-specific pipeline.
Formed in December 2021, KBio is a subsidiary of BAT with operations in the UK and U.S. For more information, please visit www.kbio.com