Investing $18.4 million in its Series B round, BiomEdit aims to broaden its designer probiotics platform.
Indiana-based BiomEdit, a pioneering company in the field of animal microbiome research, has announced that its groundbreaking probiotic product, Optavant, is set to launch commercially in late 2026. This follows the completion of the final stage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) conditional licensure process and the successful scale-up activities underway in 2025.
Optavant, previously known as BE-101, is a first-of-its-kind probiotic vectored antibody (pvAb) product. It comprises a pair of microbes engineered to express antibodies to toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium perfringens, which is a significant cause of necrotic enteritis in the broiler chicken industry. The product is sprayed on the back of birds the day they hatch and provides coverage for about five weeks of the growth cycle, typically six weeks for broiler chickens.
The BE-01 enzyme, a key component of Optavant, degrades Lipopolysaccharide, a potent inflammatory stimulant across all major farm animal species. BiomEdit engineered the host strain to improve its production and secretion of the BE-01 enzyme, ensuring its scalability for commercial production.
The $18.4 million Series B round led by Anterra Capital, with follow-on investment from animal nutrition co Nutreco and new participation from AgriZeroNZ, Elevate Ventures, and Betagro Ventures, has been instrumental in supporting BiomEdit through conditional licensure and into the commercial launch of Optavant.
BiomEdit's products are not limited to farm animals, as they can be used across major farm animal species. The company has multiple products in its pipeline, including BE-01, and has not been specified as focusing on a single organism or flagship strain for its next-gen biotics.
In addition to the Series B funding, BiomEdit has secured over $1.7 million in new non-dilutive grants, including an USDA grant targeting avian flu, an NIH award for early research into a human therapeutic application, and a Global Methane Hub grant to support enteric methane reduction research in cattle.
To further strengthen its team, BiomEdit has welcomed Kristin Bloink, formerly of Elanco, as its VP of development, and Andrew Carlson, previously of ADM, as its Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). These strategic appointments will aid BiomEdit in its preparations for the commercial launch of Optavant.
With the commercial launch of Optavant approaching, BiomEdit is set to bring real science to understand why microbial solutions work and use synthetic biology to make them even better, revolutionising the animal health industry.
[1] BiomEdit Press Release, "BiomEdit Secures $18.4 Million Series B Funding to Advance First-in-Class Probiotic Product", 2022. [2] BiomEdit Press Release, "BiomEdit Achieves Key Milestones in USDA Conditional Licensure Process", 2023. [3] BiomEdit Press Release, "BiomEdit Announces Commercial Launch Timeline for Optavant", 2024.
Science and technology are set to revolutionize the health-and-wellness sector of farm animals with the commercial launch of BiomEdit's groundbreaking probiotic product, Optavant. The Series B funding secured by BiomEdit has been instrumental in supporting the company's research and development, including the improvement of the BE-01 enzyme, a key component of Optavant, which degrades inflammatory stimulants across various farm animal species.
