Post by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant

🌱 🧬 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘀? 🎙 Episode 8 of our 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐗 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐨-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 miniseries is now live. Recorded at the Pitch Perfect and Boost the European Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode brings the deep-tech scale-up perspective into the discussion on 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. Melina Gerdts' guest is Bart Walcarius, Head of Technology Integration at Biotalys, a company developing 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀 as alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides. Biotalys engineers small, highly specific proteins derived from camel and alpaca antibodies. These proteins are 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗲𝘀. The conversation goes into what scaling really looks like in agricultural biotech: 🔄 Competing against cheap chemical pesticides means cost of goods is critical from day one. Precision fermentation must be economically viable at scale. 🔄 Strain development is only the beginning. Host selection, expression optimisation, and scalable process design take years, not months. 🔄 Scaling requires external partnerships early, from pilot facilities like Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant to large-scale contract manufacturers. 🔄 Regulatory approval is a defining milestone. The EPA in the US has issued a proposed registration decision for Biotalys’ first biofungicide, a major validation step. 🔄 Europe moves more slowly. EFSA approval will take one to two more years. Regulatory timing directly shapes market entry strategy. 🔄 Multidisciplinary teams are essential. Molecular biology, fermentation engineering, regulatory expertise, agronomy and manufacturing all need to work together. 🔄 Scaling bio-based innovation is not only a technical challenge. It is a coordination challenge across science, manufacturing and regulation. This episode shows what happens when bio-based innovation meets one of the toughest markets in the world: crop protection. 📺 Video podcast available on YouTube 🎧 Audio version available on Spotify 👉 Follow bioCircular Loop and Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant to catch the next episode and stay informed on how bio-based innovation moves from lab science to field application. #bioeconomy #biotech #agriculture #biocontrol #scaling #innovation #circulareconomy #PitchPerfect

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