Onego Bio appoints former VTT CEO Antti Vasara to board as commercialization push accelerates

Onego Bio has strengthened its board with the appointment of Dr Antti Vasara, bringing more than 25 years of experience across science, technology leadership and commercial strategy to the precision fermentation company.

• Onego Bio appointed Dr. Antti Vasara to its board of directors in February 2026.

• Vasara previously served as President and CEO of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and held senior roles at Nokia.

• The appointment came as Onego Bio advanced commercialization of Bioalbumen, its non-animal egg protein.

The food ingredient company, which produced non-animal egg protein through precision fermentation, confirmed the board appointment on 4 February. Vasara most recently led VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, where he oversaw one of Europe’s largest applied research organizations focused on deep tech, industrial innovation and commercialization.

His career also included senior leadership roles in industry and innovation policy, including work with Nokia and contributions to European research and development initiatives. At VTT, Vasara was closely involved in building bridges between scientific research, industrial partners and large-scale deployment.

Maija Itkonen, Chief Executive of Onego Bio, said Vasara’s experience would support the company’s next phase of growth. “Antti is one of the most respected leaders in science and innovation. His deep understanding of technology commercialization and ecosystem level strategy will be invaluable as Onego accelerates its mission to deliver resilient, sustainable ingredients at scale,” Itkonen said.

Vasara joined the board as Onego Bio moved forward with the commercialization of Bioalbumen, its precision-fermented egg protein designed to replicate the taste, nutritional profile and functional properties of conventional egg protein. The company has positioned the ingredient as a supply-stable alternative for food manufacturers facing volatility in traditional egg markets.

Bioalbumen has been targeted at applications across food manufacturing, baking and consumer packaged goods, where eggs play a critical functional role in texture, binding and aeration. Onego Bio has emphasized that the ingredient offered a significantly smaller environmental footprint compared with conventional egg production, alongside greater predictability of supply.

The board appointment followed a period of increasing attention on fermentation-derived proteins as manufacturers looked for alternatives that could be produced independently of agricultural constraints such as disease outbreaks, feed costs and animal welfare concerns.

Vasara said Onego Bio’s focus on industrial deployment aligned closely with his background in applied research and commercialization. “Onego Bio is not just redesigning food ingredients, it is delivering industrial-scale solutions grounded in science and built for efficiency,” he said. “I’m excited to contribute to a team that is solving real supply chain challenges with technology that’s both scalable and globally needed.”

Onego Bio has been part of a growing group of companies applying precision fermentation to produce animal-identical proteins without the use of livestock. As regulatory pathways and manufacturing capacity continued to develop, board-level experience in scaling science-led technologies has become an increasingly important asset for companies moving from pilot production toward full commercial supply.

With Vasara’s appointment, Onego Bio added senior leadership experience spanning research institutions, multinational industry and public-private innovation ecosystems, as it prepared for the next stage of Bioalbumen’s market rollout.