BiomEdit acquires Folium Science technology to expand poultry feed pipeline

USA – Animal health biotechnology company BiomEdit has acquired Folium Science’s technology platform and pipeline assets, adding an approved poultry feed additive and CRISPR-based microbiome technology to its portfolio of precision animal health solutions.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition gives BiomEdit control of Folium’s Guided Biotics CRISPR-Cas technology and BiomElix One, a poultry feed additive approved by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA).

BiomElix One provides BiomEdit with an already approved poultry nutrition asset, while the Guided Biotics platform expands the company’s technology base for developing microbiome-focused animal health products.

Founded in 2022, BiomEdit develops genetically engineered bacterial strains known as Programmable Veterinary Biologics.

The technology is designed to perform targeted biological functions addressing animal health and production challenges in livestock and companion animals.

Acquisition strengthens poultry health and nutrition portfolio

The Folium technology takes a different approach by selectively targeting specific bacterial populations within the microbiome while preserving the wider microbial community.

BiomEdit CEO Aaron Schacht said combining the two platforms would give the company broader tools for developing animal health and production solutions.

“One approach engineers beneficial bacteria to perform targeted biological functions; the other selectively targets specific bacterial populations within the microbiome,” Schacht said.

“Together, these scientific approaches give us a broader set of tools to address important animal health and production challenges.”

The transaction adds to BiomEdit’s existing poultry pipeline, including BE-101, a product 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 US Department of Agriculture’s Center for Veterinary Biologics.

BiomElix One gives the company a second advanced poultry programme with a different regulatory status, having already received approval in Brazil as an animal feed additive.

The combination gives BiomEdit exposure to both animal health and feed applications, while adding another route for commercialising precision microbiome technologies in poultry production.

The company is also developing programmes targeting infectious disease, chronic disease and sustainability across livestock and companion animals.

Folium co-founder Ed Fuchs said BiomEdit has the development capabilities needed to advance the technology Folium has developed over the past decade.

“I’m proud of what our team built and confident that, in BiomEdit, our science has found the right home: one with the vision, expertise and development capability to realise its full potential for animal health,” Fuchs said.

The acquisition reflects growing interest in precision microbiome technologies as the animal health and feed industries seek alternatives to conventional approaches for managing disease and supporting livestock productivity.

For the poultry sector, adding BiomElix One gives BiomEdit an approved feed additive that could complement its development of veterinary biologics, while the Guided Biotics platform provides further scope for developing targeted microbiome applications.

BiomEdit’s investors include Anterra Capital, Viking Global Investors, Nutreco, AgriZeroNZ, Elevate Ventures and Betagro Ventures.

With the Folium assets now integrated, BiomEdit has expanded its poultry pipeline while maintaining its focus on engineered microbial technologies and precision approaches to animal health and nutrition.

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