Bio Bureau has a lot to celebrate. In 2022, the company successfully completed two challenging technological projects, as well as climbing 4 places in the top 10 biotechs of the 100 open startups, reaching 3rd place and being featured in the Valor Econômico newspaper:
Startup advances research to preserve biodiversity in the energy sector and produces sterile mussels
The first project was the first molecular baseline of a hydroelectric reservoir, at Tijoá Energia’s Três Irmãos plant, in the interior of São Paulo. The technology made it possible to identify all the species present in the reservoir in just one sampling point, compared to traditional techniques that took 10 years. In addition, the non-invasive methodology made it possible to collect data on the entire reservoir in just two days and the biological data digitized through DNA sequencing will be preserved for future auditing. In September 2022, a new project was approved with Tijoa to develop a specific kit for detecting species of environmental interest, further increasing efficiency and allowing for more frequent sampling.
The second was the completion of phase 3 of the golden mussel project, which aimed to develop a prototype of the genetically modified mussel. The current challenge is to breed this invasive species in captivity in order to multiply the GMOs and test their efficacy and safety in a controlled environment, which will be done over the next two years. The consortium is negotiating the entry of new financing companies for the next phase of the project, which aims to obtain safety and efficacy certificates from regulatory bodies.
Finally, the Bio Bureau has signed a contract with Repsol to develop a fast, accurate and economical solution for monitoring the sun coral. This is the second phase of the project that began with the sequencing of the genomes of three species of coral, which are now being used to develop a way of identifying the presence of coral in water samples from the DNA present in the environment. This will allow us to generate data on the presence of the sun coral on an unprecedented scale, which we hope will help to better plan the transit of vessels along the Brazilian coast.
The goal for this year is to open the first spin-off based on one of the technologies, thus validating its business model of developing R&D projects with a stake in intellectual property and commercialization rights.