Abolis puts microbial data to work with MINE platform

Abolis Biotechnologies has launched MINE, a microbial intelligence platform designed to help R&D teams turn complex biological data into decisions on experimental design, process optimization and scale-up.

• MINE combines microbial and multi-omics data with experimental and industrial insight to help R&D teams identify promising strains, parameters and development routes.
• The platform builds on technology originally developed for Abolis' own biotechnology programs and subsequently refined through collaborations with industrial partners.
• Abolis says MINE can support applications across food and nutrition, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, cosmetics and personal care.

The French biotechnology company said the platform, whose name stands for Microbial INtelligence Explorer, addresses a persistent challenge in microbial biotechnology: generating large quantities of biological data does not necessarily tell researchers which findings deserve further investigation.

MINE draws on Abolis' understanding of metabolic networks to help teams identify microorganisms, parameters and precursors to test, with the aim of reducing reliance on trial-and-error approaches.

It brings together genomic exploration, multi-omics analysis and experimental interpretation, allowing researchers to examine how individual strains contribute to the production of target molecules and investigate interactions within more complex microbial systems.

The platform can then be used to identify potential levers for process optimization and relate those findings to technical and industrial constraints. According to Abolis, this can help development teams prioritize experiments, determine what needs to be validated and direct resources toward the most credible development routes.

"The challenge in microbial biotechnologies lies in the difficulty of integrating the various pieces of information and, therefore, to know which signals matter and which hypotheses deserve further testing for product development," said Sylvia Julien, General Manager, MINE Business Unit. "MINE gives teams a clearer way to navigate that complexity, helping them focus experimental work on the questions most likely to move a programme forward."

MINE has its origins in Microbiome Studio, a machine learning-enabled analytical platform developed through Metapath, an industrial program supported by the French government.

Microbiome Studio was initially created to support Abolis' own microbial biotechnology programs. The technology was subsequently refined through work with industrial partners before being developed into MINE for use by external R&D and open-innovation teams.

Abolis said another objective is to make microbial data more accessible to teams whose decision-makers are not specialists in omics or bioinformatics. Its multidisciplinary scientific teams support users in interpreting biological evidence against specific product objectives and technical requirements.

The launch also adds a data and intelligence component to Abolis' existing development capabilities, which span strain engineering, enzyme modeling, fermentation, bioprocess development and scale-up support.

By combining those capabilities, the company aims to allow partners to assess both biological potential and industrial feasibility within a single development program, rather than treating data analysis and downstream process development as separate activities.

Potential applications extend across several industries. In food, nutrition and agriculture, Abolis sees opportunities in areas including ingredients, biotics, fermentation-derived products and bio-based alternatives. The platform can also support development programs in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, cosmetics and personal care.

Abolis was founded in 2014 and works across industrial biotechnology, microbiology, microbial fermentation, metabolism, robotics and intellectual property strategy. The company develops biological production processes and supports partners in moving biotechnology programs toward industrial validation.

"MINE software release marks the point at which more than a decade of microbial-biotechnology, data and industrial experience of Abolis becomes a platform to boost partners' research and our own research," said Cyrille Pauthenier, Co-founder & CEO of Abolis. "It strengthens Abolis' ability to support decisions before, during and beyond experimentation, connecting biological evidence with the realities of validation, process development and scale-up. For our partners, that means a clearer route from microbial potential to an industrially relevant program."

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