Uncommon Bio's Cultivated Meat Platform Transferred to Meatable, as Uncommon Shifts Focus to Therapeutics

Dutch food tech startup Meatable has made a significant stride in the cultivated meat industry with its acquisition of the platform and key staff from UK-based Uncommon Bio. This move will enable Meatable to broaden its product lines and tackle the growing demand for various species, such as chicken and lamb.

The acquisition has raised Meatable's total funds to $130M, a testament to the confidence investors have in the company's vision. Notable investors in Uncommon Bio, including Apollo Projects, Lower Carbon Capital, and Agronomics Ltd, have also backed Meatable, further strengthening the company's position in the cellular agriculture sector.

Meatable's Chief Technology Officer, Aris de Rijke, emphasised the importance of speed to market, stating that achieving this is often easier with a non-GMO product due to fewer regulatory hurdles. The acquisition of Uncommon Bio's platform has provided Meatable with a regulatory-ready dossier, potentially expediting regulatory approval in multiple regions.

Uncommon Bio's polysaccharide-based delivery platform offers a safe, efficient, and scalable alternative to multi-target therapies. This technology will complement Meatable's Opti-ox technology, which uses pluripotent stem cells and a perfusion process to generate fully differentiated muscle and fat cells in just four days.

Meatable's CEO, Jeff Tripician, expects to have approval in five to six countries by the end of 2025. The company is building a large-scale facility in Singapore, with Singapore being its first market for regulatory approval. Furthermore, Meatable is in discussions with forward-looking meat companies globally for partnerships.

The acquisition will not only allow Meatable to work with more breeds but also expand beyond food. Meatable is planning to secure around $35M in a Series C raise and is partnering with Dutch firm Pelagen, specialising in cell-based leather, to enhance the production, efficiency, and scalability of cell-based leather for various industries.

As Meatable only had the GMO option until now, this acquisition will provide a diversification across possible GMO and non-GMO product lines. Meatable's strategy is to use the approval in Singapore as a proxy for novel food authorization in other countries, fostering international cooperation.

On the other hand, Uncommon Bio is spinning out to therapeutics in stealth mode, focusing on changing medicine through multi-targeting. The company, formerly known as Higher Steaks, raised $30M in Series A funding in 2023.

With this strategic acquisition, Meatable is set to make a significant impact in the cultivated meat industry, addressing the growing demand for sustainable and ethical food sources.