Research Corporation partners with engineering platform

MicroByre Inc., a leading microbial engineering platform company, and the East Tennessee State University Research Corporation (ETSURC), a non-profit driving collaboration and innovation beyond the ETSU campus, announce a strategic partnership to create microbial-derived products via precision fermentation.  

This announcement is a significant expansion of the co-development work in which the ETSURC and MicroByre have been engaged. Pairing MicroByre’s sustainable biomanufacturing technology with the ETSURC’s expertise in the materials industry will help quickly bring new bio-based solutions to market. 

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the ETSURC to bring new biotechnology solutions to the marketplace,” said Sarah Richardson, CEO of MicroByre. “This is one of the projects that fully encompasses the breadth of our expertise at MicroByre and we are excited to keep building for a better future.”  

MicroByre will use its proprietary development platform to create a laboratory-feasible biotechnology solution, and the ETSURC will validate a scaled manufacturing process. 

This partnership represents further validation of MicroByre’s business model of partnering with experts in scaling biotechnology while focusing on upstream domestication and engineering of previously underutilized microbes. This approach ultimately de-risks projects for all parties and helps move renewable chemistries to market quickly, organizers said.  

The ETSURC was established to help connect the world-class capability on the university campus and in the region with global market opportunities. The world needs less carbon-intensive polymer recycling and manufacturing routes, the ETSURC said, and this project is “a perfect example of creating incredible capability through partnership.” 

MicroByre and the ETSURC are confident that their partnership efforts will result in the development and deployment of novel biotechnology solutions with significant environmental benefits.  

“Our partnership with MicroByre accelerates our adoption of renewable chemistries and aids in our goals to bring biomanufacturing to East Tennessee and beyond,” said David Golden, CEO of the ETSURC.  

 About MicroByre 

 MicroByre is the leading microbial domestication company. Its foundational platform is dedicated to identifying, characterizing and optimizing long-overlooked bacteria and bringing them to biomanufacturing applications for their customers.  

 About ETSURC 

The ETSU Research Corporation launched in January 2021 with a mission to connect, convene and create world-class innovation in a rural setting. It serves to enrich the university’s culture of research on campus through internal and external partnership opportunities and by assisting in innovation and economic development in Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Learn more about the ETSU Research Corporation at etsurc.org.  

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