AgriZeroNZ has invested US $3.5 million (NZ $6.3 million) in biotech company BiomEdit to accelerate its development of a probiotic-based feed additive to enhance productivity and reduce methane emissions from dairy cows.
The public-private partnership’s latest investment follows recent backing of two other companies developing probiotic-based solutions: Hoofprint Biome Inc (US) and Bovotica (Australia).
AgriZeroNZ chief executive Wayne McNee says probiotic solutions are an important part of its expanding investment portfolio, which also includes a bolus, vaccines, inhibitors and pasture.
“We’re investing in local and global companies to give us the best chance of providing New Zealand farmers with access to a range of affordable, effective mitigation solutions to choose from.”
McNee says early investment in global companies ensures products are developed for pasture-based systems and making those tools available in New Zealand, which is a relatively small market on a global scale, is a priority.
“Probiotics are of particular interest to us because they’re naturally occurring and have the potential to deliver a productivity benefit alongside a methane reduction – benefits that are likely to be powerful drawcards for farmer uptake.”
Indiana-based BiomEdit are specialists in microbial discovery to address major challenges in animal health.
Their unique scientific approach identifies microbes that improve an animal’s health and performance, which enables development of probiotics to effectively feed these beneficial microbes to animals.
“BiomEdit’s team is highly experienced with proven ability to take a product from discovery to commercialisation. We’re pleased to support them to leverage this expertise to help Kiwi farmers reduce methane emissions without compromising productivity and profitability.”
Wayne McNee, AgriZeroNZ chief executive
BiomEdit CEO, Aaron Schacht, says their approach enables them to ‘make life difficult for methanogens’, the methane-forming microbes ruminant animals produce in their rumen while they digest their food.
“We’ve discovered naturally occurring microbes that inhibit methanogen activity and simultaneously increase production by repurposing that energy to improve rumen function.
“Our early lab trials have shown promising results and this support from AgriZeroNZ will help us continue to test and refine the product to ensure its long-lasting enough to be effective in grazing systems and, importantly, safe for cattle.”
Animal trials are currently underway in the US, with plans to do larger-scale trials in New Zealand later this year.
Schacht says they’re targeting a 30% reduction in methane emissions from its natural probiotic, and future products could see a 50% reduction with the use of engineered probiotics.
“To improve the methane-inhibiting properties of the naturally occurring microbes, we’re exploring how we can engineer certain strains to express safe molecules – either peptides or proteins – that directly target methanogens. The goal would be even greater levels of enteric methane reduction and higher performance.”
While BiomEdit’s natural probiotic should have a straightforward pathway to get regulatory approval in New Zealand, McNee notes the process for any future engineered products will be dependent on the outcome of the Gene Technology Bill.
“With global markets starting to demand lower-emissions products, cutting-edge innovations could be the solution to help New Zealand farmers stay ahead, meet those expectations, and keep delivering high-quality food.”
AgriZeroNZ’s investment was part of BiomEdit’s Series B funding round which raised more than US $18 million. It was led by Anterra Capital, with follow-on investment from Nutreco and new participation from Indiana’s Elevate Ventures, and Betagro among others.
Source: https://www.agrizero.nz/
