Porto-based PFx Biotech announced today that it has closed a €2.5 million Seed funding round to advance its precision fermentation platform for producing bioidentical human milk proteins – aiming to deliver sustainable, non-GMO, and allergy-free nutritional solutions for all life stages.
The round was led by Buenavista Equity Partners alongside EIT Food and Beta Capital. This coincides with a recent €2.5 million grant from the EIC Accelerator, which will allow PFx Biotech to further scale up the production of Lactoferrin to pre-industrial levels, establish its own bespoke labs, and grow the team.
“This is a defining moment for PFx Biotech,” said Ali Osman, Founder and CEO of PFx Biotech. “We’re proud to be backed by mission – aligned investors to help us unlock the potential of Lactoferrin in a more sustainable nutrition model. As we enter this new growth stage, we are actively exploring strategic collaborations across R&D, scale-up, and go-to-market opportunities.”
Founded in 2022, PFx Biotech is developing an engineering biology platform to produce highly bioactive human milk proteins via a scalable precision fermentation process, for use in the advanced nutrition markets.
Their team brings experience in dairy proteins, fermentation, molecular biology, scale up and open innovation, rooted in sustainability.
PFx Biotech’s engineering biology-based platform for the large-scale production of functional ingredients, including human milk proteins, can be formulated into consumer products ranging from infant formula, sports nutrition and elderly nutrition products.
Human milk proteins are the golden nutritional and health-promoting proteins in early life nutrition. By producing highly bioactive alternative human milk proteins, through precision fermentation, PFx is reportedly creating a new category of ingredients that will support and boost the immune system.
Beyond new generation infant formula, their non-allergenic, GMO-, dairy- and animal-free proteins are easily digestible and bioavailable, making them ideal for all populations, including those with specific nutritional needs, namely elderly and athletes.
“We believe PFx Biotech is one of the few companies with the scientific depth, technical execution, and visionary leadership required to make precision fermentation commercially viable at scale,” said Bibi Sattar Marques, Partner at Buenavista Equity Partners. “This investment reflects our conviction in biology-driven solutions to reshape the food system and our confidence in the PFx team to lead that change.”
At a time when precision fermentation is emerging as a cornerstone technology for sustainable, nutritious, and resilient food systems, this dual achievement places the PFx Biotech in an ideal position to further its advancements in this field.
“We are not only driven by the urgent need of taking serious steps towards disrupting the current proteins production systems, but also passionate about our mission to positively impact the life of millions,” added PFx Biotech.