Allozymes Raises $5M Seed to Revolutionize Chemical Manufacturing

The Revolution in Enzyme Discovery: Allozymes Secures $5 Million Seed Funding

The creation of everyday products – from detergents to cosmetics and flavoring agents – often depends on enzymes, biological catalysts that drive crucial chemical transformations. However, identifying the optimal enzyme for a specific application, particularly in drug development or additive creation, has traditionally been a lengthy and largely unpredictable undertaking. Allozymes is poised to disrupt this process with a groundbreaking new system, aiming to establish a new industry benchmark and has successfully secured $5 million in seed funding to facilitate commercialization.

Understanding Enzymes: The Building Blocks of Biochemical Reactions

Enzymes are complex molecular chains composed of amino acids, fundamental components encoded within DNA. These intricate molecules interact with other substances, accelerating chemical reactions – for example, converting sugars into readily usable energy within cells.

The application of enzymes extends significantly into the manufacturing sector. Major corporations routinely identify and isolate enzymes to perform valuable tasks, such as converting inexpensive raw materials into more useful compounds. Companies reliant on chemicals not readily available in nature frequently employ enzymatic processes to enhance production.

The Challenge of Novel Enzyme Discovery

Despite the widespread utility of enzymes, a specific enzyme doesn't exist for every conceivable reaction. When developing entirely new molecules, like innovative pharmaceuticals or flavorings, a naturally occurring enzyme capable of interacting with or creating them may not be present. Since organisms don't naturally synthesize compounds like allergy medications, companies must either discover or engineer new enzymes to fulfill these needs.

The complexity arises from the sheer number of potential enzyme variations. Enzymes typically consist of at least 100 amino acid units, with 20 different amino acids available for each position, resulting in an astronomically large number of possibilities even for relatively simple novel enzymes.

Researchers have made progress by starting with known enzymes and systematically exploring variations, but this process remains complex and time-consuming, even with full automation. Current capabilities typically allow for the screening of only a few hundred enzymes per day, requiring sophisticated robotic laboratories.

Allozymes: A Paradigm Shift in Enzyme Screening

Allozymes’ claim of being able to screen up to ten million enzymes daily represents a substantial leap forward in capability.

Image Credits: Allozymes

Founded by Peyman Salehian (CEO) and Akbar Vahidi (CTO), both chemical engineers of Iranian origin who connected during their doctoral studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Allozymes’ technology originated from three years of research conducted at NUS. The university holds the patent and has granted the company exclusive licensing rights.

“Current industry standards haven’t seen significant improvement in two decades,” Salehian stated. “Large pharmaceutical companies maintain dedicated departments and invest in $2 million robotic systems, yet still require a year to identify a new enzyme.”

Accelerating Discovery and Reducing Costs

Allozymes’ platform promises to accelerate the enzyme discovery process by several orders of magnitude, while simultaneously reducing costs by a factor of ten. If these projections prove accurate, the enzyme search will become significantly more efficient, potentially rendering billions of dollars in existing investments and infrastructure obsolete.

Traditional enzyme isolation involves a multi-step process: introducing DNA templates into cells, culturing these cells to produce the target enzymes, and then robotically analyzing them once sufficient growth is achieved. Promising results trigger further variations, while unsuccessful attempts necessitate restarting the process. This involves meticulous handling of samples, incubation periods, and extensive waiting times.

The Allozymes process, developed by Vahidi and colleagues at NUS, is contained within a compact benchtop device and generates minimal waste. Instead of using culture dishes, the system encapsulates cells, substrates, and other necessary components within tiny droplets in a microfluidic system. Reactions occur within these droplets, allowing for rapid incubation, tracking, and testing compared to traditional methods.

Enzyme Engineering as a Service

Allozymes does not sell the device itself, but rather offers enzyme engineering as a service. Their offerings are tailored to specific project requirements. For example, a company with an existing enzyme might seek a variant that is easier to synthesize or less reliant on costly additives. Alternatively, a company aiming to replace traditional chemical processes might require an enzyme to bridge the gap between starting materials and desired products.

Peyman Salehian, left, and Akbar Vahidi.

Vahidi clarified that the goal isn’t to “democratize” enzyme engineering, as it remains a complex and resource-intensive field primarily suited for large organizations. However, Allozymes enables these companies to maximize the return on their research and development investments. Salehian emphasized that their speed and value proposition differentiate them from competitors like Codexis, Arzeda, and Ginkgo Bioworks.

While occasional agreements may involve shared ownership of intellectual property or products, the core business model centers around providing the service. (However, even a single million-dollar order represents a significant achievement.)

The Power of Data and Future Potential

The extensive enzyme screening process generates a wealth of data, which Allozymes recognizes as a valuable asset. This data can be leveraged to predict enzyme function based on amino acid modifications, potentially eliminating the need for physical engineering in some cases and even enabling the design of enzymes with desired properties.

The company’s recent $5 million seed round was led by Xora Innovation (affiliated with Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign fund), with participation from SOSV’s HAX, Entrepreneur First, and TI Platform Management. Salehian explained that they considered incorporating in the U.S. due to interest from American venture firms, but Temasek’s early investment encouraged them to remain in Singapore.

“Biotransformation is in high demand in this region,” Salehian concluded. “Chemical, agricultural, and food companies require these services, but no platform company has been able to consistently deliver. We aim to address this critical gap.”