11 April 2024
BSF
Enterprise PLC
("BSF" or the "Company")
Successful Cultivated Leather Proof Of Concept
Agreements
BSF (LSE: BSFA), (OTCQB: BSFAF), the
Main Market listed biotech company and owner of pioneering UK-based
tissue engineering company 3D Bio-Tissues Ltd (3DBT) and corneal
tissue replacement company Kerato Ltd, has received over £90,000 to
date in payments and funding for several proof-of-concept (PoC)
agreements for the development of cultivated leather
samples.
In 2023, 3DBT agreed to provide a
major multinational leather fashion company with three
bio-engineered samples of animal skin tissue, measuring up to 10 by
10 cm in size and between 0.5 mm to 1 mm in thickness. The
partnership was carried out to look at the validity and suitability
of 3DBT's cultivated skin as a sustainable, ethical alternative for
leather tanning and the production of traditional leather
goods.
Following the conclusion of a
60-week study, in which 3DBT's PoC study successfully achieved and
fulfilled the technical and operational requirements of the
agreement, a more formal strategic and financial partnership has
since continued with 3DBT now developing bio-engineered samples
measuring up to 10 by 10 cm in size and 2 mm in thickness. To date,
BSF has received over £50,000 in initial payments from the
partnership.
The production of tissues with such
thickness and their successful application with a prominent global
leather production company represents an important milestone for
3DBT and the wider cultivated tissue industry. 3DBT is currently
engaged in several Proof of Concept (PoC) projects with other
leather companies to establish the suitability of its skin product
as a sustainable, ethical alternative to traditional leather. We
hope to make a further update on formal commercial agreements in
the coming months.
Additionally, BSF Enterprise has now
won £38,000 in grant funding from the Government agency Innovate UK
to begin its project with the University of Northampton. The
project will use 3DBT's bio-equivalent dermal tissue, combined with
the University of Northampton's leather manufacturing knowledge,
for the development of ethical and sustainable leather. The project
will look to use 3DBT dermal tissue as a replacement for animal
skin and hide, developing processes to transform this innovative
raw material into a premium material, suitable for leather-based
footwear, apparel, handbags, furniture, fashion, automotive and
accessories.
3DBT cultivates skin tissue using
its patented City-Mix ™ supplement, a booster for the media in
which cells are grown, that provides numerous advantages over
traditional cellular agriculture media. These include higher
production yields; the need for fewer expensive supplements; and
the elimination of animal-derived serum, such that no animals
suffer in the production process. Therefore, the leather skin
samples are 100% animal tissue.
BSF Enterprise continues to progress
and achieve its strategic objectives laid out at the beginning of
the year. The Company is sufficiently funded for all near-term
activity and has no current plans for a fundraise. Any additional
funding may be achieved at a subsidiary level to prevent the
dilution of shareholders.
Che
Connon, Managing Director of BSF Enterprise, commented: "Today's announcements
represent another milestone in the development and application of
3DBT's City-mix ™ technology in delivering successful
high-quality cultivated tissue to clients within the leather
industry. We look forward to seeing these commercial and research
partnerships continue to grow as we increase our production
capacity to enable further development of cultivated skin on a
larger scale to meet the growing demand."
For
further enquiries, please visit www.bsfenterprise.com or
contact:
About BSF Enterprise PLC:
BSF Enterprise PLC (BSF) is focused
on unlocking the next generation of biotechnological solutions -
using cell-based tissue engineering to help generate cultured meat,
lab-grown leather, as well as human corneas, collagen growth and
skin substitutes, as part of a radical transformation to deliver
sustainable solutions across a variety of sectors.
It owns 100% of 3D Bio-Tissues
(3DBT), a tissue engineering with patent-protected IP that is
already producing human corneas for testing to help restore vision
to millions of people. Building on this success, it aims to
produce the UK's first high quality leather from its
laboratory in Newcastle, transforming the leather industry towards
an ethical and sustainable practice.
BSF aims to deliver growth to
shareholders through the continued commercialisation of 3DBT's IP,
which has multiple applications, as well as through M&A. It
aims to develop a suite of technologies that underpins the
development of tissue templating for corneas, meat and leather, and
license out the IP to manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors
to help manufacture the products at scale.
For further enquiries, please
visit www.bsfenterprise.com or
contact:
BSF Enterprise PLC
|
Via SEC Newgate below
|
Geoff Baker - Executive
Director
Che Connon - CEO &
Director
|
|
|
|
Shard Capital (Broker)
|
|
Damon Heath
Isabella Pierre
|
0207 186 9000
0207 186 9927
|
|
|
SEC Newgate (Financial
Communications)
|
|
Bob Huxford
Elisabeth Cowell
|
020 3757 6882
BSF@secnewgate.co.uk
|