Biotech company Imperagen on Thursday announced a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) seed round led by PXN Ventures with participation from IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone. The company was founded in 2021 by scientists Dr Andrew Currin, Dr Tim Eyes and Dr Andy Almond from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and is a spin-out of the university.
The startup seeks to improve enzyme engineering to make it faster, more efficient and less expensive than the slower, physical and trial-and-error-driven processes currently used.
Imperagen is using three core technologies to redefine enzyme engineering. Specifically, it uses quantum physics-based simulations instead of trial-and-error enzyme mutation in the lab. Imperagen predicts the behavior of enzyme variants on a computer using advanced quantum physics modeling that can explore millions of mutations, the company said. This information was then converted into a custom AI model and trained on the enzyme problem Imperagen wanted to explore. Finally, to maintain the AI model, Imperagen uses robots and automation to generate experimental data that is fed back to the AI model through a process called closed-loop simulation.
Enzymes are vital to many industries, especially pharmaceuticals, as they are essential for drug development. Startups like Imperagen are trying to speed up enzyme engineering because it could have a domino effect, making drug discovery faster and more efficient, for example. Enzymes are also used in areas such as food, biofuels, and agriculture. Sustainability experts are also sought. Enzymes and AI technology surrounding them Making industrial production and manufacturing more sustainable.
Other players in this space include Biomatter, Cradle Bio, and Absci.
On Thursday, Imperagen announced that Guy Levy-Yurista will take on the role of CEO. In an interview with TechCrunch, he said that due to the current lack of enzyme engineering processes, many new AI-based technologies may also pass trial and error, but may fail when implemented at industrial scale.
Imperagen told TechCrunch that its technology will make enzyme development “faster, more reliable, and more commercially accessible, helping companies bring better bio-based products to market without the long timelines and uncertainties that have traditionally hindered this field.”
Levy-Yurista has a background in AI, life sciences, and enterprise technology. The founders will remain with the company, but Levy-Urista joins to help expand the startup’s AI strategy, commercial model and industry partnerships, while building out new technologies, including a vertical AI infrastructure for biocatalysis (processes that use natural catalysts such as enzymes to accelerate chemical reactions).
The company has raised £8.5 million ($11.42 million) in funding to date, and the new capital will be used to hire more AI experts, commit to research and development, expand its experimental lab capabilities and build out its go-to-market capabilities within the next two years.
“Ultimately, Imperagen hopes that widespread use of engineered enzymes will help industry reliably produce products that are cleaner, safer and better for people and the planet, while also making commercial sense for the companies that adopt them,” Levy-Yurista said.
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