RCS - Agronomics Limited - Meatly reduces bioreactor and medium costs

AgronomicsAnnouncement

28/05/2025 15:00

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RNS Number : 4673K  Agronomics Limited  28 May 2025

REACH

 Agronomics (https://agronomics.im/) Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Meatly reduces bioreactor costs by 95% and medium costs to 1.5p/l at scale

Agronomics (LSE: ANIC), a leading listed company in the field of clean food,
is delighted to announce that its portfolio company, Good Dog Food Limited
(t/a "Meatly") has developed an in-house bioreactor to accelerate the scalable
production of its cultivated petfood.

Meatly says the new bioreactor has the biocompatibility, longevity,
scalability and overall performance to meet the requirements for cell culture
for an industrial cultivated meat facility comprising multiple 20,000 litre
scale bioreactors, which Meatly intends to develop as part of its next funding
stage.

The newly designed 320 litre equipment costs just £12,500 compared to
traditional biopharma reactors, which can cost £250,000, representing a 95%
cost reduction. To date, Meatly has concluded the commissioning phase and the
first cell growth run in its pilot scale 320 litre novel, low-cost bioreactor.
This patented bioreactor, designed in-house by Meatly's R&D team, will
replace the reliance on and use of expensive biopharma bioreactors, which has
been a significant barrier for many cultivated meat companies.

Jim Mellon, Executive Chair and Co Founder of Agronomics and investor in
Meatly, commented:

"What sets Meatly apart is the work being delivered to achieve full ownership
of the intellectual property across the entire production line-from cell
cultivation to supplying sustainably sourced chicken to pet food providers.
This vertical integration not only enhances supply chain security and
sustainability but also enables cost control to help deliver the scalability
of its products to a growing mainstream market. In a food industry
increasingly focused on resilience and environmental responsibility, Meatly
Chicken offers partners the best of both worlds, reducing reliance on
destructive farming methods while delivering consistent quality at an
affordable price. We are proud to support Owen and Helder as they continue to
lead the way in this transformative sector."

The full announcement is set out below without any material changes:

28 May 2025: London, UK: Leading cultivated meat company Meatly has today
announced a series of landmark achievements in its scientific production
process, marking a watershed moment for cultivated meat. This marks another
giant step for Meatly in scaling cultivated meat and reaching price parity
with traditionally reared chicken.

As part of this mission to slash production costs, Meatly has announced it has
concluded the commissioning phase and the first cell growth run in its pilot
scale 320 L novel, low-cost bioreactor. This patented bioreactor, designed
in-house by Meatly's R&D team, will replace the reliance on and use of
expensive biopharma bioreactors, which has been a significant barrier for many
cultivated meat companies.

The new bioreactor has the biocompatibility, longevity, scalability and
overall performance to meet the requirements for cell culture for an
industrial cultivated meat facility comprising multiple 20,000L scale
bioreactors, which Meatly intends to develop as part of its next funding
stage. The newly designed 320 L equipment costs just £12.5K compared to
traditional biopharma reactors, which can cost £250k, representing a 95% cost
reduction.

Additionally, Meatly is today announcing it has further slashed the costs of
its protein-free medium to an industry-leading £0.22/L. Meatly is now in a
position where, at an industrial scale, the company's medium costs will be
priced out at around £0.015/L. This medium has also proven that it is capable
of supporting cell growth for over 175 doublings, a substantial improvement on
historical medium doubling performance. This will mean that Meatly Chicken,
once scaled, will be priced competitively with average EU chicken breast
prices.

This breakthrough underlines Meatly's leadership in the industry's technical
development as well as its pace to market. Following on from its regulatory
approval back in July of 2024, Meatly and brand partner The Pack launched and
sold 'Chick Bites' the world's first cultivated pet food, in Pets at Home in
London in February. To date, Meatly has raised £7m, significantly less
capital than other cultivated meat companies, proving there is a fast and
cost-effective way to scale cultivated meat.

Meatly is now in the midst of its Series A funding round, which seeks to raise
finance a brand new, state-of-the-art industrial facility to scale production
of its chicken.

Commenting on the news, Helder Cruz, Chief Scientific Officer at Meatly, said:

"At Meatly, we have worked tirelessly with the team to bring to reality both
our new low-cost bioreactor, as well as a record cheap medium to be used
within it.

 Many have cast doubt that the industry would ever reach this point - but
we're pleased to prove these critics wrong. We are showing the world that we
can produce meat in a kinder, better way, and we can make it at a price which
makes it easy for brands to incorporate Meatly Chicken as an affordable
ingredient in their existing product range. By reaching price parity, it then
becomes a simple and easy choice for consumers to buy better meat for their
pets. "

ENDS

 Notes to Editors

About Meatly

Meatly (previously known as Good Dog Food) was founded in 2022 by CEO Owen
Ensor and CSO Dr Helder Cruz with backing from investor Agronomics. The
company produces ethical and sustainable cultivated meat products without
compromising on essential nutritional benefits. Their current focus is on the
pet food market.

 For further information please contact:

 Agronomics Limited                  Beaumont Cornish Limited  Canaccord Genuity Limited  Cavendish Capital Markets Limited  Peterhouse Capital Limited  SEC Newgate
 The Company                         Nomad                     Joint Broker               Joint Broker                       Joint Broker                Public Relations
 Jim Mellon                          Roland Cornish            Andrew Potts               Giles Balleny                      Lucy Williams               Bob Huxford

 Denham Eke                          James Biddle              Harry Pardoe               Michael Johnson                    Charles Goodfellow          Anthony Hughes

                                                                                          Charlie Combe
 +44 (0) 1624 639396                 +44 (0) 207 628 3396      +44 (0) 207 523 8000       +44 (0) 207 397 8900               +44 (0) 207 469 0936        agronomics@secnewgate.co.uk

 info@agronomics.im
 Meatly & Agronomics PR contact      Calum Warren-Piper        07366 906999               N/A                                N/A                         calum@33seconds.co (mailto:calum@33seconds.co)

 

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