Agronomics Limited has announced that its portfolio company, Onego Bio Ltd, has successfully raised €27 million in its Series A financing, with an additional €9.5 million in non-dilutive funding from Business Finland. Agronomics participated in the round with a €1.55 million investment alongside other investors. The company's position in Onego Bio, including the Subscription, will be carried at £11.1 million, representing a gross IRR of 27.57% and a MOIC of 1.53x. Agronomics now holds an equity stake of 16.36% in Onego Bio on a fully diluted basis.
Agronomics' first investment in Onego Bio was in February 2022, leading the Seed round with a €6.9 million investment. Onego Bio secured an exclusive license from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. to commercialize its proprietary strains of the highly productive protein expression system Trichoderma reesei to produce egg proteins. A Life-Cycle Analysis conducted by VTT and published in Nature Foods in 2021 showed that the production of ovalbumin via precision fermentation using Trichoderma as a host organism could reduce environmental impacts across various categories.
Onego Bio's Series A funding will be used to continue scaling and optimizing its production processes and productivity, finance its work with contract manufacturing partners, and prepare for FDA filing for regulatory approval in the United States. The company plans to first launch in North America, followed by expansion in Europe, South America, and Asia.
Jim Mellon, Executive Chairman of Agronomics, expressed confidence in Onego's capabilities and vision, highlighting the need for a sustainable solution for chicken eggs. New Agrarian Company Limited, an affiliate of Agronomics, and Jim Mellon personally invested in Onego Bio.
Onego's Bioalbumen® is a bioidentical protein to the major protein in chicken egg white, ovalbumin, with high protein digestibility and functional properties. The company collaborates with over 25 well-known CPG companies, aiming to provide a sustainable, ethical, and secure supply of egg protein.
In conclusion, Agronomics' portfolio company, Onego Bio, has secured significant funding to further its mission of commercializing egg proteins via precision fermentation, with a focus on sustainability and ethical production.