Enzymit, a leading bioproduction company in Israel, has made an exciting announcement about their latest groundbreaking achievement in collaboration with Aleph Farms – the creation of insulin substituents. These new proteins promise to significantly reduce the expense and development time for producing cultivated meat at scale. This joint innovation has come at a crucial time when the cultivation of meat is becoming increasingly popular and the demand for non-animal-derived serum protein mimetics is on the rise.
Using state-of-the-art proprietary algorithms and throughput testing capabilities, Enzymit was able to develop insulin “substituents” and subject them to extensive testing to prove their functionality. After careful screening, they were able to select several leading substituents that exhibit outstanding results in activity for cell culturing and require minimal concentration for activation.
Insulin is a conserved protein found in mammals and other species and has the potential to have a similarly beneficial impact on the production of other cultivated meat types besides cow cells, such as porcine, ovine and poultry. Enzymit’s CEO, Gideon Lapidoth, has this to say about the achievement: “Creating highly stable and more active insulin substituents can markedly reduce the cost of growth media and increase efficiency in producing cultivated meat at scale.”
Considering the prohibitive expense in scaling cultivated meat production, developing non-animal-derived serum protein mimetics that promote and support cell growth has become a daunting challenge. According to Enzymit, the production of cultivated meat requires the use of recombinant proteins, accounting for an overwhelming majority of the cell culture costs. Creating insulin substitutes like these can reduce the cost of growth media and improve efficiency in producing cultivated meat at scale.
The collaboration between Enzymit and Aleph Farms marks the beginning of a new chapter in the cultivation of meat production. Neta Lavon, the CTO of Aleph Farms, is optimistic about the long-term impact this innovation can create, saying, “This innovation…is helping to build the foundations for our sector to achieve cost-efficiency and long-term impact.”
In conclusion, this partnership between Enzymit and Aleph Farms is an exciting development that is set to revolutionize cultivated meat production. It is a significant step in creating a more sustainable and cost-effective way of producing meat while reducing the need for animal husbandry and the production of highly processed foods.
