Saint Louis, Missouri – July 23, 2020 – Plastomics Inc. has been awarded a Phase I National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Award of $225,000 to develop a new and better way to make the next generation of biotech corn, using their novel chloroplast engineering platform.
The broader goal of the SBIR project is to develop environmentally sustainable, higher yielding biotech crops in a more efficient manner. Biotechnology is the most widely adopted technology in agriculture today, however, the first generation of commercial biotech crops cannot deliver enough food to feed a growing world population in the face of climate change and increasing insect and weed pressures. Plastomics’ technology overcomes current limitations and allows development of higher yielding biotech crops that will help farmers feed the world.
“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”
“Successful completion of this Phase I project will result in a biotech platform that will provide solutions for corn growers seeking higher yields and improved traits. The insights gained from this project will be useful for similar improvements across multiple crops and can help to achieve world-wide goals to ensure that farmers can sustainably produce enough nutritious food for the growing world population,” says Jeffrey Staub Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Plastomics who will serve as the Principal Investigator for the SBIR project.
Plastomics’ innovative chloroplast engineering technology will build better biotech crops by delivering valuable traits in a more efficient and sustainable way. Plastomics’ technology platform enables more effective products, simplifies product development, reduces the time and cost to bring biotech crops to market and will ease concerns around outcrossing, creating new biotech crop opportunities. Crops developed with the Plastomics’ platform will provide benefits to biotech seed developers, farmers, and consumers.
About the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Programs: America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $1.75 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.1 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. To learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, visit: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/
About Plastomics Inc.
Plastomics is a plant biotechnology company making safer and more effective crops by delivering valuable traits to the chloroplast – the natural powerhouse of the cell. Plastomics is committed to using its technology to produce wholesome affordable food in an efficient and sustainable way. Plastomics is located in St. Louis, Missouri in the center of the 39 North AgBiotech Innovation District and adjacent to the majority of farms and food producers of America’s Heartland.
For more information, contact CEO Sharon Berberich, sharon@plastomics.com, or visit www.plastomics.com.