Plastomics closed a $7.1M Series A led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood with participation from Fulcrum Global Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, QRM Capital, iiM, CIG Spectrum and existing investors iSelect, Missouri Technology Corporation, The Yield Lab, BioGenerator and Centennial Investors. What will the money go towards?
Martha Schlicher, Plastomics CEO
“It’ll allow us to get the trait delivery system from the lab through the greenhouse to the field, for both soybeans and corn,” CEO Martha Schlicher told the 4thEst8. Will that get a product to market? No… “We will be showing that what we’ve said… we’re going to be able to do… with how the chloroplasts delivery system is an enhancement of the nuclear delivery system.”
Plastomics is developing a new way to design crops by editing the chloroplast rather than the nucleus. They’re focusing on corn and soybean crops. The chloroplast is the organelle in the plant cell where photosynthesis happens, converting energy from the Sun into chemical energy. The approach has claimed advantages over current technology, which manipulates the cell nucleus, including no-outcrossing, faster development, and a higher expression of the desired trait.
Schlicher told the 4thEst8 in February the company is seeking out trait producers to apply some of those seed traits to their soybean platform. We reported the first such deal, with Evogene, in March. The plan is for Plastomics to supply seed companies with seeds that have been modified to carry advantageous traits and for the seed companies to sell those seeds to farmers. Some potential traits in the modified seeds could be fungal resistance, insect resistance and drought resistance.
Some history:
Plastomics was founded in 2016 by Jeffrey Staub and Ralph Bock, raised $2.2-million in seed funding, and an undisclosed venture round from TechAccel in 2018. Plastomics has also been funded by The Yield Lab, Biogenerator, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, The Helix Fund, Missouri Technology Corporation and the St. Louis Arch Angels. Also in 2018, the company converted more than $2-million in debt.
Links:
On the 4thEst8:
Plastomics hires key VP; moves next door
Plastomics partners with seed-trait producer
