Kópavogur, Iceland-based ORF Genetics, a plant biotechnology company, has raised €5M to expand its MESOkine growth-factor portfolio.

The funding round, which remains open until mid-October, is expected to reach €7M with additional investor participation.

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The company plans a major scale-up of MESOkine production to meet the needs of cultivated meat producers as the industry moves from research into large-scale commercialisation.

ORF Genetics aims to increase capacity fourteenfold by 2027 and achieve a 10,000-fold scale-up by 2032.

ORF Genetics: Pioneer in plant biotechnology

Founded in 2001, ORF Genetics specialises in plant biotechnology that creates high-quality recombinant proteins, including human and animal growth factors, using bioengineered barley.

“We produce these proteins in bioengineered barley—a sustainable, safe, and highly cost-effective method—backed by 17 years of growth-factor manufacturing expertise,” says the company on LinkedIn.

Led by Berglind Rán Ólafsdóttir, the company is dedicated to advancing genetic science by developing efficient and safe solutions for producing these proteins.

The company’s Orfeus expression system uses barley grain to produce recombinant proteins, particularly effective for growth factors and cytokines.

This technology has allowed ORF Genetics to develop a portfolio of growth factors, including human growth factors for the stem cell research market, as well as for its own successful skincare brand, BIOEFFECT, which features a plant-based version of EGF (Endotoxin-free Growth Factors).

Since its launch in 2010, BIOEFFECT has become a popular anti-ageing skincare brand, with over 30 per cent of Icelandic women using it. It is available in luxury stores like Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman, as well as online.

Furthermore, the company’s latest product, MESOkine, launched in 2020, is animal growth factors specifically developed for the cellular agriculture market, with a strong focus on meat production from stem cells.

The barley is grown in an eco-friendly greenhouse located in an Icelandic lava field, using renewable geothermal energy.