Invaio Sciences has acquired Peptyde Bio, a company that discovers, designs and characterizes novel peptides for use in agriculture. The acquisition brings an established platform and IP portfolio that will enable Invaio to speed up the design and discovery of biologically active peptides that can protect crops from pests and disease in a more sustainable way.

Invaio's pioneering innovation approach is designed to produce nature-positive solutions for farmers by combining new active ingredients that are better for the environment with breakthrough systems that protect and deliver these actives.

"This acquisition adds Peptyde Bio's portfolio of confirmed peptide lead candidates for use in crop protection to our existing pipeline. When combined with our innovative biological delivery systems, we are uniquely positioned to offer growers more natural, efficient and effective solutions to protect their crops," says Ignacio Martinez, Founding CEO of Invaio. "It's a truly exciting time for Invaio and the industry as we accelerate the leap to more nature-positive solutions for farmers."

"We're delighted to bring Peptyde Bio into the Invaio fold," says Yajie Niu, Chief Science Officer at Invaio. "This will further enhance Invaio's AI discovery platform, enabling us to speed new biological actives into the hands of growers, and making Invaio's the most advanced bioactive discovery platform and pipeline in the industry."

Peptyde Bio was founded in 2022 based on antimicrobial peptide technology developed over 20 years by Danforth Center scientists Dilip Shah, PhD and Kirk Czymmek, PhD.

"One of the principal purposes of the Danforth Center and DTC is to quickly bring emerging technologies developed at the Center to the market," said Tom Laurita, PhD, CEO of Danforth Technology Company. "This acquisition by Invaio is the first exit for a DTC company and proves that our strategy is working."  

"Peptyde Bio has created a large pipeline of peptides with novel modes of action. We are looking forward to integrating our technology into the Invaio discovery engine and delivery platform," said Czymmek, PhD, CTO of Peptyde Bio.