Focus on high value-added products based on non-model bio-automation transformation platform, many have reached mass production level

Build a non-model biological automation transformation platform

Andy Zhuang believes that although there is a short-term overheating trend in the development of synthetic biology, in the long run it is still in a 30-year upward phase of the general trend. Entering companies should primarily build a long-term competitive advantage in science and technology while building a short- to medium-term business closure.

After the completion of the last round of financing, OnessPoint has not only achieved rapid development in the product pipeline, but also completed the construction of three major technology platforms with "non-model biological automation transformation platform" as the core, and plans to take "product pipeline forging technology platform" as the concept to continuously strengthen the long-term technological advantages including the ability of industrialized agile transformation of unique chassis microorganisms.

It is reported that the three major technology platforms of OnessPoint are agile non-model organism modification platform, intelligently designed enzyme engineering platform and intelligent automated experiment platform. With the support of the three major technology platforms, OnessPoint has established a unique technology R&D advantage that distinguishes it from similar companies, and laid a solid underlying technology foundation for the future rapid transformation of the massive amount of non-model organisms in nature.

First of all, Shuobo Shi specifically introduced the company's agile non-model biomodification platform.

In synthetic biomanufacturing, the chassis cells are the "hardware" basis. Because of their clear genetic background, model microorganisms have been playing an important role in both basic microbiology research and industrial biological applications. Commonly used model microorganisms include Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Comparatively, industrial non-model strains have been less studied due to the lack of early genetic tools. In fact, many non-model strains naturally possess excellent properties required for an ideal cell factory, including GRAS-safe strains, efficient use of multiple substrates especially cheap raw materials, short growth cycle, high yield of target products, low by-products, stable performance, tolerance to extreme environmental conditions, and robustness, and many non-model strains have been developed into important chassis cells.

"This platform is also a reflection of OnessPoint 's ability to create non-model chassis microorganisms. The company has created non-model strains with excellent scalability to achieve high production of terpenoids and fatty acids. It has also developed a series of genomic manipulation tools with corresponding components; in addition to non-model organisms, the company has accumulated a wealth of chassis strains and advanced genetic modification tools in traditional model organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli."

He continued, "Having both metabolic engineering capabilities and enzyme engineering capabilities is also a major competitive advantage for OnessPoint, and the company has built an intelligently designed enzyme engineering platform."

The construction of existing efficient cell factories often requires excellent catalytic enzymes, and irrational random mutation or evolutionary engineering is currently a powerful tool for protein modification, but the biggest problem in the above modification process is the lack of corresponding screening or selection markers for enzyme libraries. OnessPoint 's team has now accumulated a large number of Biosensor components, with the help of which high-throughput screening and targeted evolution of enzymes can be gradually achieved.

In addition, based on the profound R&D background of the team members, the company has built an intelligent automated experiment platform and is continuously optimizing it.

Among the whole R&D technical team of OnessPoint, Shuobo Shi has studied under Professor Huimin Zhao, who built the first fully automated synthetic biology platform iBioFAB.

Dr. Hao Jiang, who is the technical director of BiofAB platform, has been practicing in the field of life science and synthetic biology, and has rich industry understanding and management experience in the R&D intelligence and industrialization of synthetic biology, and was the vice president of technology R&D of Bluepha.

R&D focus on high value-added products

According to Andy Zhuang, OnessPoint has laid out several R&D pipelines based on the above three technology platforms. "The existing technology reserve has been able to be put into production, while it will be further optimized through feedback from testing in production."

"The company focuses on products that bring 'beauty and health' to life, and currently focuses on building a pipeline of high value-added products. The product development of OnessPoint focuses on terpenoids and fatty acids, and the application of raw materials covers different fields such as beauty and health care and food".

At this stage, the first application of OnessPoint 's products for cosmetic ingredients has reached mass production level, and has already contacted with many downstream demanders and reached annual cooperation agreements with many cosmetic brands.

The company will also lay out more product pipelines with the advantages of the three platforms next. At present, the non-model microbial strains developed by OnessPoint can effectively utilize low-value carbon sources such as lignocellulose to produce bulk products or some other medium-scale products, which can significantly reduce the production cost of products.

At the end of the interview, Andy Zhuang said that the company's existing pipeline research and development is progressing rapidly, and the current focus is on expanding the manufacturing of research and development strains, the continued creation and optimization of three major technology platforms, and the establishment of an intelligent modular automation platform on demand.

He concluded,“Combining the general environment of synthetic biology industry at home and abroad and our own advantages, in the next 3~5 years we hope to have at least one or two pipelines to reach the top three in the world in terms of market share. In the future, we will also gradually open the construction platform of high-throughput agile strains in some industries, so as to promote the rapid development of green biomanufacturing and contribute to a green and sustainable future.”