DTM E49. Building a BioTech Startup in the Cultivated/Lab Meat Industry - Nihal, MyoWorks

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In this episode, we have an exciting guest, Nihal, the co-founder of Myoworks, a biotech startup that is shaping the future of the cultivated meat industry. Nihal shares the founding story of Myoworks and how they adapted 3D printing to create something more innovative and cutting-edge for the cultivated meat industry. He talks about the team's journey in creating a novel scaffolding technology for the industry. We also touch upon the benefits of cultivated meat as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to conventional farm meat. Lastly, Nihal mentions the team's success in securing funding through BIRAC and the SINE incubator at IIT Bombay. So, let's dive in and learn how Myoworks is revolutionizing the food industry!

Listen to the episode here,

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Social Links

Nihal Singh - nihal-singh (LinkedIn)

MyoWorks - www.myoworks.in

Pronojit Saha, DTM Podcast - pronojitsaha (LinkedIn),  @pronojits (Twitter) 

Show Notes & Summary:

(0:29) Founding Story and Overview of Myowworks

1. My co-founder and I came up with the idea for My works while experimenting with 3D printing and wanted to do something more innovative using bioprinting.
2. We discovered the potential of bioprinting organs and were inspired to explore the cultivated meat industry as a space for same.
3. We started by developing a novel scaffolding technology, which was crucial for the cultivated meat industry, and gradually expanded our range of products.
4. We currently have three to four products in development specifically for cultivated meat production.


(2:11) Understanding Cultivated Meat: Ingredients and Appearance

1. Cultivated meat, also known as lab-grown or cell-based meat, involves taking cells from an actual animal and growing them in suitable conditions to create macroscopic tissue.
2. It requires various ingredients and technologies, including cell lines, scaffolds, serum growth, bioreactors, and ancillary technologies.

3. A scaffold is a structure that provides shape and structure to lab-grown meat, similar to the backbone structure of structured meat. Lab-grown cells without a scaffold result in a mushy texture, like ground meat, which can be used for products like hamburgers and nuggets.
4. However, to create structured pieces of meat like shrimp or chicken breast, scaffolds are necessary to provide a shape for the cells to adhere to and grow onto.
5. These scaffolds are edible and use a mycelium-based technology to mimic the texture and appearance of meat extracted from animals.
6. The goal is to scale up this high-tech product from the lab bench to a consumable product that can be produced on a larger scale.


(5:22) Benefits of cultivated meats

1. Cultivated meat includes every food-relevant species, such as bovine, pork, and poultry.
2. Conventional farm meat is not sustainable in the long term and contributes to high levels of anthropogenic emissions.
3. Cultivated meat aims to make the system more sustainable by reducing the carbon footprint and eliminating the use of harmful chemicals, antibiotics, and growth hormones.
4. Cultivated meat also ensures food safety by reducing the prevalence of antibiotics found in conventional meats.


(7:47) Regulations Around Cultivated Meat
1. Food regulations for selling cultivated meat are currently open and uncertain.
2. Singapore is the only country that allows the sale of cultivated meat.
3. The answer to whether other countries will adopt similar regulations will likely become clear in the next few years.


(8:14) The Challenges of Raising Funding for BioTech Startup

1. When we started our company, we began working from home and creating small mycelium scaffolds to send to other companies.
2. As our idea grew, we realized we needed a larger space and more expertise to turn it into a full-fledged business.
3. We reached out to an incubator called Sion at IIT Bombay, and they connected us with BIRAC, a biotechnology committee in India that provides grants for startups.
4. We applied for and were fortunate to receive a 50 lakh rupee grant from BIRAC, which allowed us to hire our first employee and scale up our technology.
5. We were also fortunate to be in touch with several investors in India who were interested in the deep tech space, particularly cultivated meat. Ankur Capital was one of the investors we regularly communicated with, and they shared our passion for deep tech.
6. Through our connection with Ankur Capital and other investors, we were able to secure funding for our project after a period of discussion and negotiation.


(11:08) Assessing Business Model Viability in Early Stages

1. When we started, there were about 30 to 40 startups in the cultivated meat industry, so we decided to focus on selling a specific product to these companies as a stepping stone toward our ultimate goal.
2. We chose to focus on scaffolds, an essential component for scaling the cultivated meat industry, after speaking with many cultivated meat companies and understanding their specific needs and use cases.
3. Our customers consisted of cultivated meat companies, which were also startups themselves and were around five or six years old due to the industry being in its early stages.
4. We didn't have the resources or expertise to build an end-to-end system, so we saw the B2B model as a viable approach for our business model in this emerging industry.


(13:07) Identifying Early Customers for Startup Success

1. When we started in the cultivated meat market, there were only a few startups, making it easy for us to make contact with them through cold mail and conferences.
2. We gathered feedback from these startups on their daily challenges and realized there was a need for structured scaffolding specifically for shrimp or chicken breast products.
3. Cold mail proved to be an underrated and valuable tool for startups to find their market fit, as the responses indicated whether our proposition resonated with potential customers.


(15:32) Working with design partners

1. The products we were developing went through an iterative process due to constant changes in client needs and use cases.
2. Clients demanded different designs and functionalities within just a few months of initial development.
3. As startups, we had to quickly adapt to the fluid nature of the industry and continuously change our processes and design approach to meet the evolving product market.


(16:25) Assessing Technical Feasibility and Iterative Process

1. Cost is a major barrier when it comes to the technical feasibility of our product, particularly in regard to scaffolds used in cultivated meat production.
2. Many companies currently use expensive methods and recombinant proteins to create scaffolds, which is not scalable in the long term.
3. In order for cultivated meat to be a viable replacement for conventional meat, it needs to achieve price parity or be close in price with natural meat.
4. The three main parameters we considered when selecting our technology were food relevance, grass materials, and cost.
5. We started with a two-dimensional scaffold and then progressed to make it work with different cell lines and food-relevant cells.
6. We have now moved on to working on a three-dimensional scaffold, but we are still in the iterative process and don't have a perfect product yet.


(19:40) Facilities for Technologies: In-House or Ecosystem Enabler?

1. We use the facilities at Sion, a business incubator at IIT Boundary, for our laboratory space.
2. Sion has a common BioLab space that has been extremely helpful in speeding up our progress.

3. In terms of patents, it is a crucial aspect to consider for our company's future success.
4. We have filed a patent for our Scaffolding technology, both nationally and internationally.
5. Filing patents in the deep tech space is crucial due to the rapidly-changing nature of the sector. It helps protect our technology from other startups attempting to develop similar technologies.

(21:27) Overcoming hurdles in Biotech startup marketing by being Data Driven

1. Our main market is cultivated meat companies worldwide. We need to iterate on our process and create a product that convinces these companies to use our technology.
2. We often receive incoming leads from companies looking for specific technology solutions.
3. A significant hurdle we face is getting timely third party validation from customers who are busy with their own product development.
4. To overcome the limitation, we need to send the clients more data. We should aim to handle as much of the data analysis in-house as possible.
5. With enough data resources, we can demonstrate the effectiveness of our solutions to potential clients.
6. The availability of strong data evidence gives clients an additional reason to work with us efficiently.


(24:50) Current Status and Future Expectations of Market Regulations in Singapore and Worldwide

1. Singapore has a regulation for novel food products, including cultivated meat, and companies can apply for approval through this process.
2. Singapore has already approved and started selling cultivated meat from one company, showing progress and leadership in the industry.
3. In the US, two different companies have received "no question" letters, indicating progress towards commercializing cultivated meat.
4. In India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is aware of the cultivated meat industry and has a working committee focused on it.
5. India needs to take charge in terms of regulating cultivated meat, deciding how to approach it and what regulations to put in place, while also ensuring they don't fall behind in the race to commercialize it.


(26:28) Challenges in scaling for the BioTech industry

1. One major challenge in scaling up cultivated meat is the high cost and technological barriers associated with optimizing different ingredients and processes.
2. Cultivated meat currently relies on serum-based media, which is extracted from cow fetuses, making it neither animal-free nor cost-effective.
3. There are multiple companies working on developing serum-free alternative media to address this issue.
4. Bioreactor designs also need to be optimized to generate cultivated meat at scale, including reusing media and improving other aspects of the production process.
5. Overall, there are several factors that need to be optimized in order to scale up cultivated meat technology successfully.


(28:30) Insights on Raising Seed Funding for Biotech Startups

1. Biotech startups seeking funding should have a minimum viable product (MVP) and demonstrate product-market fit.
2. Investors prioritize seeing a market for the biotech product and its scalability, in addition to its technological potential.
3. Pre-validated data, either through internal testing or external validation, greatly assists in fundraising efforts.
4. Investors gain confidence when there is evidence of a successful product test by a potential customer.
5. Third-party due diligence further enhances investor trust in the biotech product and its leadership team.


(31:20) Anticipated BioTech market forces in the next 3-5 years

1. Market adoption will be the most significant market force once the product is available to customers.
2. The commercial availability of the product will serve as a testing point to determine if the technology is effective and to understand customer preferences.
3. The initial product to be launched in the market will be a hybrid, combining plant-based and cell-based ingredients.


(32:22) Advice to fellow BioTech startup founders to gear them for success

1. Consider whether the idea is valuable and adds value to the industry they are trying to disrupt.
2. Secure funds, as deep tech and biotech ventures can be expensive and time-consuming.
3. Seek a government grant as a valuable resource to start obtaining funds.
4. Focus on gaining market traction and validating the minimum viable product (MVP).
5. These three points will help take the venture from zero to one.

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