BioInnovation Institute (BII), a non-profit institute incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, today announces it has entered into a collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark to support a translational research project through its company creation program, Bio Studio.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, BII will contribute to the funding of the project by means of a grant with a total annual market value of up to DKK 7,860,000, for a project period of up to three years. Alongside the grant, BII will support the project with business development expertise, intellectual property support, investor network access, and wet lab and office infrastructure.
The Bio Studio project, named Sweet Bliss, aims to design and produce sweet proteins with versatile, functional properties tailored to specific needs for use in the food and supplements industry. These sweet proteins could serve as a promising alternative to synthetic sweeteners due to their inherent and potent sweetness, and the potential to be engineered to replace various functionalities of sugar through targeted engineering.
The project will be led by Principal Investigator, Professor Morten Sommer and Entrepreneur in Residence, Ali Fallah-Araghi.
Morten Sommer is a Professor, Group Leader, and Scientific Director at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Throughout his career, he received numerous awards for his outstanding research efforts and was involved in several spin-out companies, such as Biosyntia, SNIPR Biome, Union Therapeutics, and Utility Therapeutics.
Ali Fallah-Araghi obtained his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the University of Strasbourg, where he worked in Andrew Griffiths’ lab developing screening applications for droplet-based microfluidics. For more than ten years, he held diverse roles at Novozymes, such as Science Manager, Department Manager, Scouting for Innovative Technologies, and Technical Service Manager. Recently, he was the Director of Protein Engineering at Allozymes, a young Singaporean startup who recently raised their series A.
Trine Bartholdy, Chief Innovation Officer at BII, said:
“We are pleased to collaborate with DTU to support ‘Sweet Bliss’ through our company creation program. The project is an excellent addition to our Bio Studio portfolio, and the aim to provide sustainable sweeteners without undesirable health effects aligns perfectly with BII’s strategy to improve Planetary Health and Human Health. Furthermore, Professor Morten Sommer is a world-class PI with extensive scientific and entrepreneurial experience, which will also greatly benefit the project.
Professor Morten Sommer, Technical University of Denmark, added:
“BII’s Bio Studio program offers a unique platform to fund projects with translational potential. I’m looking forward to further develop our platform for design and production of sweet proteins tailored to the specific needs of the food industry.”
Ali Fallah-Araghi, Entrepreneur in Residence, said:
As we observe, consumers are increasingly seeking healthier alternatives to sugar due to rising concerns about obesity and diabetes. Sweet proteins, being low-calorie, provide a natural and healthy alternative to traditional sweeteners. I believe Sweet Bliss has the potential to help solve the world’s sugar problem while building a successful business.
On a personal level, I am at a stage in my career where I want to use my experience to build a company that makes a significant impact on the planet and its people. With Sweet Bliss, we will leverage both innovative technologies and strong business models to achieve this goal.
Read more about the Bio Studio program here.