October 29, 2018

 

Evonik invests in embryo gender determination start-up

 

 

 

Evonik has invested in the biotechnology start-up In Ovo through its venture capital unit and now holds a minority stake in the company, based in Leiden, the Netherlands.

 

Co-leading this Series A investment is Singapore-based venture capital fund, VisVires New Protein. Along with the participation of Leiden University this brings the total financing round to an investment of several million. 

 

"In Ovo has taken on one of the biggest ethical problems in modern poultry farming," says Bernhard Mohr, head of Venture Capital at Evonik. "This investment strengthens Evonik's position as a partner of choice for the farming industry as we can provide support for ethical food production."

 

In Germany alone, an estimated 40 million day-old male chicks from layer hatcheries are killed annually, and the global figure is thought to be 3.2 billion. Poultry farms don't rear the male animals because they can neither lay eggs nor put on sufficient flesh for meat production, says Evonik.

 

In Ovo has developed a method for determining the sex in the egg that is particularly fast and reliable and can be readily integrated into the workflow of large hatcheries. The technology is being combined with a system to process the large number of eggs to be screened. In large hatcheries about 100,000 eggs must be analysed daily.

 

"In Ovo is an excellent strategic fit for Evonik's existing business," says Emmanuel Auer, head of the company's Animal Nutrition business line. "This commitment will sustainably strengthen our Animal Nutrition growth engine by allowing us to expand our presence in the egg-producing sector."

 

In Ovo's technology is based on biomarkers which allow the gender of chick embryos in the egg to be accurately determined early after fertilisation. For this purpose a tiny, easily resealable hole is made in the egg – this has for many years been standard procedure for inoculation of chick embryos in the egg. A sample is then taken and examined by mass spectrometry for the biomarker identified by In Ovo. In Ovo plans to use the invested capital to develop the technology to the stage where it can be applied on the commercial scale in hatcheries.

 

"In Evonik, we're delighted to have gained a partner with extensive knowledge of process scale-up and in the introduction of new technologies," says Wouter Bruins, co-founder and one of the managing directors of In Ovo.

 

Over the next few months the founders plan to work with German and Dutch partners to develop a prototype that can rapidly and reliably analyse and sort large quantities of eggs. On the laboratory scale, In Ovo currently needs one second for the analysis of an egg. This rate is now to be accelerated to a few microseconds per egg. The first commercial product is expected to be launched on the market in 2020.

 

As part of its venture capital activities Evonik plans to invest a total of 100 million euros in promising start-ups with innovative technologies and in leading specialised venture capital funds. The focus here is on Evonik's Health & Care, Smart Materials, Animal Nutrition, and Specialty Additives growth engines as well as on digitalisation. Evonik currently has investments in more than twenty start-ups and venture capital funds. Further information is available at http://venturing.evonik.com/