Smart Resilin, the company producing resilin protein through genetic engineering, today announces that it is joining forces with Acies Bio, the leading European biotechnology company, to found a joint company. The joint venture will see Smart Resilin's state-of-the-art technology paired with Acies Bio's advanced abilities in genetic, microbiological, and scale-up development to bring to market a multi-implementational resilin as an environmentally beneficial game changer across industries.
The deal comes as nations and industries try to meet the Paris Agreement goals, which aim to limit global warming by 1.5 degrees. Materials science is making significant headway in making the planet cleaner. However, major advancements need to be made in commercializing environmentally-friendly materials, which is often a significant obstacle for researchers and startups as sustainable products are typically more expensive to manufacture than their counterparts.
Recombinant structural proteins, such as resilin, are promising alternatives to conventional synthetic plastics due to their thermal and mechanical properties and potential for biodegradability. Most recombinant proteins produced for industries today are silk-based, which has a significantly lower return of energy than resilin, making it considerably less resilient: resilin has ~92% resilience, whereas silk has ~35%. Furthermore, resilin has an effective production process that is inexpensive and easier to produce.
Based on research by the world-leading Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor, Prof Oded Shoseyov, and headed by CEO Dr. Liron Nesiel, Smart Resilin will turn the company's successful proof-of-concept into a reality. With applications across industries from athletic footwear to haircare products and even the aerospace industry, the companies aim to provide their non-toxic, bio-degradable protein for various potential products.
"Our venture with Acies Bio is an exciting and monumental step forwards in beginning the steps to implement our resilin material in numerous industries and products," says Dr. Liron Nesiel, CEO and head researcher at Smart Resilin. "Acies Bio's expertise is unrivaled, proof being in the quality of their facilities, the scale of their projects, and the grants and funding they have received. Now Smart Resilin can put its successful proof-of-concept into practice and become a game changer for multiple applications. We are excited to begin our work with Acies Bio, making our material an easy and intuitive option for any business."
"Partnering with Smart Resilin was an easy choice once we became aware of the near-perfect elasticity and resilience of the resilin and the prototypes of products that they have created," says Dr. Štefan Fujs, CEO of Acies Bio. "Companies across the globe are looking for practical, easy, and commercially-available ways to make their products and processes environmentally friendly, all while maintaining a high-quality product. Smart Resilin's technology makes this a reachable reality for producers, and we are looking forward to being a part of the production and commercialization of this novel product."
