Onego Bio Secures EUR4.5m to Accelerate Animal-free Egg White R&D
Onego Bio is a Finnish biotechnology company producing animal-free egg white with precision fermentation. With the new funding granted by Business Finland, the company can accelerate the research and development of Bioalbumen production even further. The company’s solution rises to the major global challenges of food production and sustainable development.
Onego Bio is a biotech spin-off from VTT Technical Research Center of Finland. The company uses a commercially proven Trichoderma technology to solve environmental problems associated with eggs, one of the world’s most used animal proteins. This safe, sustainable and cost-effective precision fermentation method produces ovalbumin, the most abundant egg white protein, and the team believes this chosen technology is superior because of its efficiency and productivity.
According to Business Finland, the company’s solution rises to the major global challenges and development trends in food production. It has significant international business potential, and promotes sustainable food production, food security and the fight against climate change. The funded project also promotes the commercialization of public research findings into a global competitive advantage and has a significant positive impact on the development of the company’s business.
Cellular agriculture uses microorganisms and bioreactors instead of traditional animal farming and can provide the same food ingredients that are used every day but decoupled from the animal agriculture systems. Because of its unique functional properties, egg white is difficult to replace with alternative ingredients and it’s often the last frontier before entirely animal-free products can be manufactured. Onego Bio provides the nutritional and functional upsides of egg white, without the environmental, ethical and safety-related concerns. The company aims to launch its first product Bioalbumen as a food ingredient for the food industry and later enter the consumer market with its own branded products for baking and cooking.