Jellatech showcases cell-based collagen

North Carolina-based biotech startup Jellatech has revealed a major achievement in producing cell-based collagen. After only two years in existence, the company has successfully developed a full length, triple helical and functional collagen made from its own proprietary cell lines.

“This is a major milestone for us and I am beyond proud and excited that we are already here," commented Stephanie Michelsen, CEO. "Being able to see our clean cell-based collagen with the naked eye - it brings happy tears.”

Collagen is one of the most unique and abundant proteins in mammals. The triple-helical protein provides structure to cells and tissue. It is widely used across industries making up a US$8.4 billion market including biomedical, health, personal care & beauty, materials and food & beverage industry applications. However, the protein is only found in animals. With an increasing demand for sustainability as well as supply chain challenges, many companies are desperately looking for novel sources for collagen. This is where Jellatech sees itself as the answer.

“We’re thrilled to see that our cell-derived collagen appears bio-identical to collagen derived from animals. Because of this, we have a wide range of exciting applications from biomedicine to cosmetics to food and beverage.”

Jellatech is not the only company with sustainable collagen in sight, as a few other biotech startups are also eyeing the lucrative collagen market," added Rob Schutte, Head of Science. "Cell-based collagen can have a few advantages. With fermentation and plant-based collagen, as well as other similar technologies, applications are more limited as these technologies are unable to provide the same function due to the fact they are not bio-identical to that of animal-derived collagen. This is the problem Jellatech has been able to solve through their cell-based collagen technology."

“Collagen formation is a complex process that requires specialized machinery found only in mammalian cells," concluded Christopher Gilchrist, Senior Scientist. "We’re working to harness the innate ability of these cells to produce collagen that is bio-identical to native collagen and do it in a sustainable and animal-free way.”

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