Aug 14, 2015

1 hour ago Chloe Gui, CEO of Aranex Biotech, on stage at IndieBio's Demo Day in Cork this week Nine start-ups taking part in the IndieBio accelerator in Cork this week pitched their products and services to an audience of investors, academics, industry and scientific partners. The IndieBio Demo Day was the culmination of the €800,000 (US$900,000) investment made by SOSventures in the IndieBio accelerator programme focused on opportunities in the synthetic biology space. SOSV’s IndieBio accelerator , now in its second year, has attracted some of the best synthetic biology start-ups from around the globe, as well as indigenous entrepreneurs. The nine start-ups drawn to Cork from Austria, Canada, France, the US and other parts of Ireland have each received approximately US$100,000 each, which is made up of cash investment, access to state-of-the-art lab space in University College Cork and mentorship from SOSventures’ global network of top experts from industry and academic partners. IndieBio Demo Day Ageria: Developing foods beneficial to health and longevity. Aranex Biotech: Creating a peanut without allergens BioCellection: Creating an ocean-friendly fish-farming feed that provides the nutritional requirements of commercially farmed fish without relying on by-catch or trawler-caught fish produce. Efflorus: Producing high-value fragrance compounds from micro-organisms. GlowDX: Creating a diagnostic DNA computer for neglected tropical disease. PiLi: Developing colours for manufacture from natural sources that won’t hurt the planet or customers’ pockets. Prospective Research Inc: Working on a revolutionary way to discover new medicines from dirt. Saphium: Designing bioplastic-producing ‘electricity-eating bacteria’ that eat CO2 and release cheaply-purifiable plastic granules, ready for big or small manufacturing, including 3D printing. Sothic Bioscience: Guaranteeing the supply of critical medical safety-testing compounds and, in doing so, saving a number of endangered species, including the Horseshoe Crab. Editor John Kennedy is an award winning technology journalist.