Precision Chroma targets clinical product launch following seed funding led by M Ventures and Bridgewest
Precision Chroma is creating a novel 3D-printed agarose packed-bed chromatography method that allows therapeutic proteins to be captured via direct affinity from unclarified bioreactor harvest, which founder and chief executive Sean Feast says could eliminate the depth-filtration and centrifugation stages typically needed before Protein A chromatography.
Manufacturing expansion and team growth in Christchurch
The new capital will fund a manufacturing plant in Christchurch and boost staff from six—with four currently onboarding—to 17 or 18 employees. Sean Feast informed the NZ Herald that his company intends to offer products for research-only clinical applications by the close of next year, prior to its complete commercial rollout. Despite recognizing a multibillion-dollar market, Feast indicates that his company will remain in Canterbury, a region that has lately become a medtech hub.
Founders connect with investors through LinkedIn messages
Professor Conan Fee at the University of Canterbury mentored Feast while he completed his PhD in biotechnology, spinning out Precision Chroma from research he conducted. Feast explained to the NZ Herald that the seed funding resulted from a LinkedIn message he sent to M Ventures’ investment director Dr Oliver Hardick shortly after the firm’s 2022 inception, though four years passed before he possessed a product suitable for funding demonstrations.
How the 3D-printed chromatography monoliths work
When pharmaceutical companies manufacture biopharmaceuticals, they grow living cells in massive vats that resemble a giant batch of soup where only one tiny, specific drug protein is useful while cell debris, waste, and fluid are discarded, Feast explains. Traditionally, purifying this material uses chromatography columns packed with millions of microscopic beads. Precision Chroma produces bespoke solid blocks known as monoliths, consisting of uniform hydrogels with micro-engineered channels that act as a multilane highway system to ensure fluid flows without clogging, even in the presence of heavy cell debris.
Addressing the US$48 billion global addressable market
Feast states that the total addressable market for his company’s technology is about US$48 billion. The market was growing at around 11% per year as pharmaceutical companies increasingly used biological molecules as building blocks for new drugs, a trend that gained momentum with RNA vaccines developed during the Covid-19 pandemic right as Feast conducted his PhD work.
Validating real-world performance against artificial intelligence
When asked if artificial intelligence could outpace the firm, Feast noted that AI has a clear place for starting searches, but added that you have to do lab testing and real-world validation to check what the AI spits out. Lead investor Hardick observed that gains in upstream bioprocess productivity have outstripped downstream purification, stating that Precision Chroma solves this by redesigning the chromatography bed while keeping the operating principles, ligands, systems, and agarose chemistry familiar to bioprocess engineers.
Frequently asked questions about Precision Chroma
Who founded Precision Chroma and where is it located?
Precision Chroma was founded by chief executive Sean Feast, who completed a PhD in biotechnology at the University of Canterbury under the mentorship of Professor Conan Fee. The four-year-old firm is based in Canterbury, New Zealand.
How much is the total addressable market for the technology?
Founder Sean Feast estimates the total addressable market for Precision Chroma’s technology is about US$48 billion, growing at roughly 11% per year.
When is Precision Chroma aiming to sell its first products?
Feast told the NZ Herald that his company plans to market products for research-only clinical use by the end of next year, preceding a full commercial launch.
Worth a look