Unicorn Biotechnologies

Unicorn Biotechnologies is accelerating science & technology to power the rapidly growing, trillion-dollar bioeconomy. Mammalian cells are the building blocks for transformative markets. From extending human healthspan and combating ageing itself (longevity) to creating potentially curative cancer treatments (cell & gene therapies), growing replacement tissues and organs (regenerative medicine) and developing new food sources to feed a growing population (cultivated meat), mammalian cells provide potential solutions to all of these challenges. However, the process of growing mammalian cells hasn’t significantly changed since the 1950s. Non-industrial production methods are highly manual and labor intensive, and remain artisinal in nature. This slows down the pace of R&D and creates significant barriers to scaling breakthrough innovations like potential cures and new protein sources to nourish people. Non-robust processes with high batch failure rates and multi-year tech transfers can mean a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a therapeutic intervention for a single person. Unicorn is solving these challenges by developing a platform to industrialize the production of mammalian cells and seamlessly scale processes from benchtop to commercial production. They leverage advanced industrial control, fluidics, biochemical-based sensing and artificial intelligence-driven adaptive process control systems to create machines that reduce labor (80%+), variability (50%+) and production costs (25-50%+) of manufacturing mammalian cells. Our modular, automated systems are linearly scalable and fully digitized, removing the need for tedious tech transfers, reducing costs, dramatically shortening timelines, and saving space when scaling from lab to commercial manufacturing. They are optimising for near-term revenues by pursuing technology licensing (selling engineered cell lines) while building out capabilities to provide “Cell-manufacturing-as-a-Service” to customers in cell and gene therapy, as well as pharmaceutical and cultivated meat markets. Ultimately, Unicorn is building the picks and shovels that will be used to power the century of biology.