CellRev uses bioprocessing expertise to disrupt the food technology industry and signals joint venture with BSF Enterprises PLC

BSF (LSE: BSFA), (OTCQB: BSFAF), the Main Market listed biotech company and owner of pioneering UK-based tissue engineering company 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT) and corneal tissue replacement company Kerato, has entered into a Term Sheet for an exclusive Joint Venture with CellulaRevolution Ltd (CellRev), a leader in continuous cell manufacturing , to help develop a new Foodtech company focused on developing, and offering to the market, an end to end solution for manufacturing cultivated meat at scale. 

The Joint Venture, Cultivated Meat Technologies Limited (CMT), will combine CellRev’s continuous bioprocessing expertise, that can facilitate faster, cheaper and more sustainable production of muscle cells, with 3DBT’s leading knowhow in forming meat tissue and its City-Mix™ animal-free cell culture supplement. City-Mix™ is already used in the growth of skin, muscle and fat cells for use in cultivated meat. The aim of CMT is to provide the market with the premier platform for manufacturing cultivated meat in a scalable and cost-competitive manner. 

The Joint Venture will develop a harmonised technology offering with a focus on both upstream and downstream processes, to provide scale-up capabilities for cultivated meat production, addressing what is a significant challenge for the growth of the industry. CMT will seek to deliver this through licensing agreements with established meat-producers that can provide production know-how, capital allocation and supply chain relationships. It will also work to establish strategic partnerships with local distributors and retailers to ensure efficient distribution and market penetration.   

Initial activities of CMT will include the development of the processes and technology necessary to showcase meat fillets manufactured in a scalable manner that can translate into a mass production facility. Alongside technology development, CMT will be focused on establishing key partnerships to assist with the production of the cultured meat feedstock and supply of product into the existing supply chain for portioning, packaging and distributing to traditional markets across Europe, the US and Asia.  

BSF will seek to finalise the legal terms of the Joint Venture with CellRev and form CMT in the coming months. The Company will provide a further update on the development of CMT in Q1 2024, setting out its strategy for the financial year.   

Chris Green, CEO of CellRev, said: ‘Cultivated Meat is at the cutting edge of alternative protein production, but as with anything this nascent, the scale-up and cost challenges are existential and only through true collaboration and open innovation will we find the solutions. We have observed the early success of 3D Bio tissues with great interest and believe that by combining our knowhow and technology offering, we can offer the market one of the most scalable production platforms currently available.’

Che Connon, Managing Director of BSF, said: ‘The biggest challenge we face in addressing climate change, securing food security and ensuring animal welfare is scaling the production of cultivated meat products for a growing global mass market. This Joint Venture with our key partner, CellRev, will combine technological expertise, manufacturing capability and capital allocation to begin producing environmentally sustainable and high-quality meat products for the wholesale market.’

Alex Buchan, Investment Director for Northstar Ventures, said: ‘We have supported CellRev since the beginning, so it is exciting to see it taking the next step in scaling up by partnering with BSF. We wish both partners every success.’

For further enquiries, please visit www.bsfenterprise.com or contact: 

ISIN of the Ordinary Shares is GB00BHNBDQ51 

SEDOL Code is BHNBDQ5. 

Notes to Editors 

About BSF  

BSF Enterprise PLC (BSF) is focused on unlocking the next generation of biotechnological solutions – using cell-based tissue engineering to help generate cultured meat, lab-grown leather, as well as human corneas, collagen growth and skin substitutes, as part of a radical transformation to deliver sustainable solutions across a variety of sectors.  

It owns 100% of 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), a tissue engineering with patent-protected IP that is already producing human corneas to help restore vision to millions of people and successfully produced the UK’s first high-quality lab-grown meat from its laboratory in Newcastle in 2023.  

BSF aims to deliver growth to shareholders through the continued commercialisation of 3DBT’s IP, which has multiple applications, as well as through M&A. It aims to acquire a suite of technologies that underpins the development of tissue templating for corneas, meat and leather, and license out the IP to manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors to help manufacture the products at scale. 

About CellRev  

CellRev is a pioneer in the field of continuous biomanufacturing having developed a truly scalable adherent cell processing platform for research and manufacturing of cultivated meat. The company’s patented platform is an industry-first, facilitating faster, cheaper and more sustainable production of cellular products. 

Media contacts: 

Nicky Dawson  

Senior PR Account Manager  

T: 0191 261 4250 

M: 07393 212515  

[email protected] 

Kristen Watson 

PR Account Executive 

T: 0191 261 4250 

M: 07718 065696  

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About Northstar Ventures 

Northstar Ventures is a venture capital and social investment firm based in the North East. We provide funding for innovative, scalable businesses and high impact social enterprises. We’ve been supporting entrepreneurs since 2004, seeking out strong teams with great ideas that will drive high growth, scalable businesses, and sustainable charities. As the North East’s leading early stage investor, we have invested over £100m into start-ups, early stage businesses and high impact social enterprises. Our investment managers have a wealth of experience supporting new and growing businesses and bring commercial and operational experience, PhDs and MBAs, international careers and even a micro-business or two.  

About The North East Fund 

The North East Fund is a suite of five venture capital and loan funds which was established in April 2018, to invest £130m in around 600 North East businesses in the period to December 2023. The fund managers provide business development advice and investment finance to small and medium sized enterprises based in the seven Local Authority areas of North East England: Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle, South Tyneside, Gateshead Sunderland and County Durham. The programme encourages investment in and the commercialisation of new technologies, including low carbon technologies, as well as stimulating new business creation, private investment and entrepreneurialism in the North East, with a view to creating over 2,500 new jobs. The North East Fund has overall responsibility for the programme, which is delivered through five separate funds, each managed by independent, FCA regulated fund managers. Details of these, and up to date information on the progress of the programme, is available on The North East Fund’s website: www.northeastfund.org. 

The North East Fund has been established with funding from the North East of England European Regional Development Fund programme, the European Investment Bank and from returns on previous North East based, publicly supported investment funds. It is jointly owned by the seven North East local authorities. 

About the European Regional Development Fund 

The North East Fund will receive up to £66,500,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations.  

For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding 

About the European Investment Bank 

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will lend up to £60,000,000 to the North East Fund programme. The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.  

For more information, visit: http://www.eib.org/about/index.htm