DeepTech: Emerging Frontiers — Mini Blog #8
Synthetic Biology
Synthetic Biology is already impacting our lives — from animal-free meat products to quick vaccine developments that helped us deal with a global pandemic. While bio based research has taken various forms since the last century, it has recently firmly entered the mainstream. This is marked by a shift from an approach based on experimental research to a more defined engineering approach.
Synthetic biology is an emerging field which applies engineering principles to the design & modification of living systems. It enables the programming of cells similar to how a computer scientist programs a computer. Biological systems like cells, bacteria, fungi behave like tiny factories, and with some modifications, these can be programmed to give us useful end products. Frameworks like the iterative Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle help systematize the discovery process.
From designing the first simple genetic circuits in the 2000s to designing complete genomes capable of various tasks, we’ve come a long way. Key highlights include the advent of infrastructure technology like CRISPR-CaS that enabled precisely editing genes at low cost. Next generation sequencing techniques enabled large scale testing, reduced costs, and further sped up the design cycle.
The tech developments have created various opportunities for startups in this space.
Investible Themes in Synthetic Biology
1. Alternative proteins — While some companies have seen success in the plant-based protein space, there is demand from the market for cultivated proteins from animal sources that remain true to the taste and feel of meat and dairy, while being cruelty free and offering climate benefits. Our portfolio company, Zero Cow Factory, aims to revolutionize the dairy industry by producing animal-free dairy protein using precision fermentation
2. Drug discovery & precision medicine — Drug discovery has traditionally been a lengthy, iterative proposition, with long lead times. AI & ML techniques help expand the design space, as well as enable quicker exploration of this expanded design space. Our portfolio company, Immunito AI, uses AI to discover novel antibody therapeutics
Another important application is precision medicine. Human beings are very diverse on various scales such as age, ethnicity, environment, lifestyle etc. This diversity is reflected in the individual variability of genes. New disease treatments take this individuality into consideration and aim to develop treatment approaches tailor-made for each individual
3. Biomaterials — The adoption of biomaterials can impact a variety of industries — construction, agriculture, manufacturing, textiles to name a few. Beyond replacing harmful petrochemicals, and offering sustainable manufacturing pathways, certain biomaterials can also be engineered to have special properties
