Our technology
Our proprietary process turns culled crown-of-thorns starfish into valuable, single-origin biomaterials.
The problem with today's biomaterials
Collagen is one of the most valuable biomaterials in the world, and the first biomaterial that we are putting our efforts into producing. Industry estimates put the global collagen market at around US$11.7 billion, growing at about 11.2 per cent a year. Demand comes from cosmetics, nutraceuticals, research, therapeutics and regenerative medicine.
Most of that collagen is made from mixed meat-industry waste, such as hides and bones. This creates four problems:
- Low quality. Mixed waste streams lead to inconsistent, poorly standardised collagen.
- Batch-to-batch variability. Raw materials from different sources and regions behave differently.
- Contamination and disease. Animal sources carry risks of zoonotic disease and heavy-metal contamination.
- Sustainability. Current collagen production is heavily reliant on the disastrously unsustainable meat industry. The meat industry alone contributes 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions (FAO, 2006).
Our approach
Crown-of-thorns starfish are an abundant raw material that is already being removed from reefs. Because every batch comes from one species and a well-defined geography, our biomaterials are single-origin by design, which makes quality control better and makes it easier to standardise, and to test for and remove contaminants.
Our proprietary extraction and purification process turns COTS tissue into high-value biomaterials. The first is full-length atelocollagen. The process has been developed and technically validated, and we are now optimising it for scale.
What is atelocollagen?
Collagen molecules have short, non-helical ends called telopeptides. Atelocollagen is collagen with these telopeptides removed. This makes it better suited to sensitive, high-value uses such as premium cosmetics, cell culture and tissue engineering. Full-length atelocollagen keeps the rest of the triple-helix structure intact.
Where our premium collagen can be used
- Cosmetics. Our premium collagen can be used as a raw material in skincare and beauty products. Our cosmetic-grade atelocollagen has been validated at lab scale, and we are now working on process optimisation and scale-up towards commercial production readiness.
- Research. Laboratories can use it for cell culture and research and development. We are developing a research and cell-culture grade collagen in our labs, currently at R&D stage.
- Regenerative medicine. It can form scaffolds that support tissue repair. We are developing a biomedical-grade collagen for scaffold applications in our labs, currently at early-stage R&D.
- Therapeutics. It has potential uses in injury treatment and other medical products. We are exploring therapeutic-grade collagen in our labs, currently at early-stage R&D.
Status
| Stage | Status |
|---|---|
| Extraction and purification process | Developed and technically validated |
| Cosmetic-grade atelocollagen | Validated; process optimisation and scale-up underway |
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