European patent protection for SCP aquafeed developer
Single cell protein developer KnipBio has announced that its patent titled Methylotrophs for Aquaculture and Animal Feed has been approved for grant by the European Patent Office. The patent offers broad-based protection for the company’s intellectual property rights in the use of methylotrophic bacteria to produce single cell proteins for animal feeds.
KnipBio chief executive Larry Feinberg said: “For the past five years we have been developing our PROTEINplus product platform around the technology covered by this patent and are gratified that the patent office recognises the uniqueness and importance of this work.
“Single cell protein made from methylotrophs offer an outstanding option for meeting the protein needs of the aquaculture industry in the coming decades. The manufacturing process is highly scalable and the single cell protein produced is traceable, an increasingly important benefit for the industry.”
Valuable microbes
In a press release, KnipBio said methylotrophs, such as Methylobacterium extorquens, are highly valuable microbes for the production of feed ingredients and as a source of protein. Beyond their ability to create single cell proteins (SCP) with an amino acid profile similar to fishmeal, methylotrophs are naturally able to express functional molecules such as the prebiotic polyhydroxybutyrate and carotenoids that offer important benefits in aquafeed diets. For example, astaxanthin is the carotenoid that gives crustaceans and salmon their distinctive pink-to-red colouring.
Feinberg added: “The technology development and patent protection process started several years ago and we are pleased to have achieved these results. This award, coupled with our GRAS designation from the US Food and Drug Administration earlier this year, validates the emergence of viable alternative proteins to serve animal nutrition industries including alternative proteins for aquaculture.”
Carbon source
Methylotrophs are a diverse group of microorganisms that can use compounds such as methanol or methane as the carbon source for their growth.
In June KnipBio announced a breakthrough in its fermentation research that enables the company to produce its single cell protein product, KnipBio Meal, from condensed distillers’ solubles (CDS), a residual by-product of ethanol fermentation.
“Using CDS dramatically reduces our feedstock costs, allowing KnipBio Meal to be competitively priced with traditional aquafeed proteins,” said at the time.
“CDS is cheap, there’s a lot of it, and because it is a waste stream, it is inherently sustainable with virtually no environmental footprint.”
