Aleph Farms and Wacker develop open supply chain solution to help scale cultivated meat production

Aleph Farms' ribeye steak. Image courtesy of Aleph Farms and Technion

Aleph Farms (Rehovot, Israel), the first cultivated meat company, and Wacker (Munich, Germany), a supplier of protein production technologies, announced the development of streamlined production processes for essential growth medium proteins to cost-effectively grow cultivated meat. These proteins are crucial for promoting and supporting cell growth, but not widely available on the market today, and represent one of the most prohibitive expenses in scaling up cultivated meat.

Growth-medium proteins are essential components naturally found in animals that act as a nutrient-rich feed to help cells grow and mature into muscle, fat and collagen-producing cells and are imperative for supporting cellular activity. The agreement between Aleph and Wacker is non-exclusive, which means that any cultivated meat company will be able to obtain these same affordable proteins without the use of fetal bovine serum or animal-derived ingredients. The open supply chain solution is expected to enable the industry to scale and achieve price-parity more quickly, thus eliminating a key hurdle in the commercial viability of cultivated meat.

"Bringing down the cost and making suitable raw materials available at this key moment in the scale-up of production is imperative to taking cultivated meat mainstream and driving impact,” said Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms, in a press release. "Investing in the development of a supply chain solution available to the entire industry is a direct result of our innovative and inclusive business model and the impetus behind our partnership with Wacker.”

“The market for cultivated meat is advancing rapidly and we want to contribute to making it an affordable reality for everyone,” said Susanne Leonhartsberger, president of Wacker Biosolutions, Wacker’s life science division. “At Wacker, we have many years of experience in the field of protein production. Our scientists have developed advanced production technologies that we can draw on. With this platform, we are now entering the field of cultivated meat. As the most technologically advanced company in the field, Aleph Farms is an ideal partner for us in this project.”