As the cultivated meat industry matures, consolidation is widely anticipated due to increasing investment challenges and the difficulties associated with scaling production. The cost of establishing large-scale, in-house production facilities is likely to exceed the financial capabilities of most cultivated meat start-ups. Consequently, partnerships with larger, better-resourced food companies are likely to be needed to bring cultivated meat products to market.
In this landscape of partnerships and acquisitions, the intellectual property (IP) assets of cultivated meat start-ups are likely to become increasing important in attracting interest from large food companies* and supporting deal-making.
By securing their IP rights, start-ups in this field can capture the value of their innovations and technical solutions, making them more appealing to potential partners. The IP generated by a cultivated meat start-up might protect a number of different aspects of the production process, including starting cells, cell differentiation processes and control, and cell culture media and processes. IP protecting those aspects that turn out to be crucial in bringing cultivated meat products to market are likely to become extremely valuable.
The processes of cell culture that are used to produce cultivated meat products are a major focus of innovation for cultivated meat start-ups, and investment in this area is likely to be reflected in the resulting IP generated. This innovation might involve both the culture and expansion of stem cells and precursors, such as myocyte or adipocyte precursor cells, as well as the differentiation of the stem cells into mature myocytes/adipocytes (and ultimately muscle/adipose tissues).
IP protecting innovations that increase the efficiency of stem cell culture, for example by increasing the expansion of such cells from a starting cell population of given size, or within a given period of time or providing for the production of larger quantities of muscle/adipose tissue from a given starting population of progenitor cells, are likely to be especially attractive to potential partners. Innovations that reduce the time required for the terminal differentiation of myocytes or adipocytes or increase the proportion of precursor cells that terminally differentiate within a given period may also be seen as valuable.
Cultivated meat start-ups may also seek to protect the methods of cell culture used to generate the product or its components. Patent claims protecting such methods typically recite one or more process steps in which one or more of the cells, culture medium, supplemental growth factors and/or the culture conditions are defined in accordance with their contribution to the innovation. Other claims might be directed to the cell culture medium and cell culture additives themselves.
Because large amounts are required for production at commercial scale, culture medium is one of the main drivers of costs of cultivated meat products. Therefore, lowering the cost of culture medium and increasing its efficiency in converting nutrients into cellular biomass will be an important factor in producing cultivated meat at large scale. IP protecting innovations in this area are likely to be a focus of attention for large food companies.
One particular issue in this area is animal-derived serum and derivatives. These are ingredients of many conventional cell culture media. However, not only are they expensive, but animal-derived ingredients also raise safety concerns and impact on the ethical position that is widely seen as key to the widespread uptake and consumption of cultivated meat products. Cultivated meat start-ups with IP directed at formulations of culture media that lack animal-derived serum products or contain only minimal quantities of such products are likely to attract partners looking to produce at scale.
One promising approach is to replace animal-derived ingredients with recombinantly-produced growth factors. Cultivated meat start-ups may look to add patent filings directed to animal serum-replacement culture media formulations comprising cocktails of recombinantly-produced growth factors to their portfolios. In addition, recombinantly-produced growth factors that have engineered for increased potency and/or stability in Cell Ag processes may also be subject of patent filings. Patent filings directed at small molecules that reproduce the effects of recombinant growth factors in Cell Ag processes, but which are cheaper and more stable in culture, would also be valuable assets for cultivated meat start-ups looking to collaborate or partner with large food companies.
Many of the standard techniques and materials employed for cell culture were originally developed for basic research in cell biology and regenerative medicine. These techniques and materials were therefore developed for human cells or cells from model species (e.g. rodents, non-human primates, etc.) and are likely to require adaptation for cells from livestock and other meat species. Similarly, lab-scale techniques will need to be scaled up dramatically to meet the demands and cost constraints of the cultivated meat sector.
Food companies may therefore seek to partner with cultivated meat start-ups with IP relating to large-scale cell culture methods and equipment, cell culture medium formulations and cell culture additives for the optimised culture of cells from livestock species.
The optimal culture conditions for cells from different meat species may be different. IP around the particular species of interest to large food companies may also be valuable assets for a cultivated meat start-up. For example, patents with claims directed to methods and compositions specifically designed or optimised for the culture of cells of a given species may be particularly attractive to partners looking to invest in large scale production.
Even when the problems of scale-up are solved, replicating the appealing properties of conventional meat remains vital in encouraging consumer adoption. Large food companies looking to partner or acquire in the cultivated meat space are therefore likely to looking for cultivated meat start-ups with proprietary, IP protected technologies specifically designed for the culture of particular tissues, and to methods and compositions for the production of muscle or adipose tissues with particular characteristics of interest. For example, methods for producing tissue with higher myoglobin content, may be seen as valuable in producing more ‘meat-like’ products. This may involve techniques and formulations for enhancing muscle fibre formation and contractility, e.g. through mechanically/electrically-stimulated contraction.
The initial cell stock from which cultivated meat products are produced is also likely to be a valuable commercial asset for cultivated meat start-ups. These cell lines need to be highly-stable and to expand and differentiate efficiently and reliably into cultivated meat. The characteristics of these cell lines may have been improved, for example to increase their ability to grow rapidly to high density in single cell suspension. These cell lines may be protected by patents with claims to methods and agents for producing multi/pluripotent progenitor cells from somatic cells obtained from livestock species, methods and agents for immortalising myocyte/adipocyte precursor cells, and also claims to the cells and cell lines themselves.
Bioreactors, substrates and scaffolds
Production at commercial scale is a key challenge and the cost of meeting this challenge is likely to drive the partnering and acquisition of cultivated meat start-ups by large food companies. IP protecting the equipment and techniques that allows the large-scale culture of cells from different species and tissues is likely to become very valuable. Top of the list of targets for large food companies are likely to be cultivated meat start-ups with patent filings relating to new bioreactors providing for high scalability e.g. by providing sufficient agitation to minimise nutrient, pH, dissolved O2 and waste gradients while minimising sheer stress on the cells in culture, and/or by allowing continuous culture. Patent filings relating to new cell culture substrates, such as e.g. microcarriers having novel chemical composition and/or structure for the optimal culture of myocytes/adipocytes and precursors are also likely to attract the interest of potential partners and acquirers.
The production of complex cultivated meat products closely resembling animal tissue is an ambitious goal of the sector. Cultivated meat start-ups with patents directed to methods and articles (e.g. scaffolds) for the co-culture and differentiation of cells of different kinds for the production of complex tissues with defined structure, e.g. comprising muscle, adipose and connective tissue, are likely to be well-place when large food companies turn their attention to complex cultivated meat products. For example, IP protecting methods of 3D printing to reconstitute naturally-occurring tissue architecture, possibly with the aid of appropriate scaffold materials may be highly attractive, along with IP protecting degradable or safe and palatable scaffolds, which may be used to form networks for perfusion of nutrients, O2 and for waste removal during production of tissues with a thickness greater than diffusion limits.
The need for massive investment to produce cultivated meat products economically and at scale will drive partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions between start-ups and large food companies. The cellular agriculture sector is therefore likely to develop along similar lines to the biotechnology sector, where small start-ups commonly partner with big pharma to bring drugs through clinical trials to market. Cultivated meat start-ups with robust IP portfolios protecting their innovations will be more attractive to potential partners, and more likely to make successful deals. This will facilitate the scale-up of production and the market introduction of consumer-acceptable cultivated meat products at competitive prices.
Come and talk to us if you are a small start-up or food company with an interest in this area. We’re here to help.
