REG - BSF Enterprise PLC - Strategic Update

BSF EnterpriseAnnouncement

15/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 1893D  BSF Enterprise PLC  15 February 2024

15 February 2024

BSF Enterprise PLC

("BSF" or the "Company")

 

Strategic Update

 

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, provides an update on the
structure and strategic priorities of its portfolio for the coming months.

BSF Strategy

BSF's core strategy is to drive the development of lab-grown tissues, through
acquiring, investing in, or developing joint ventures with the most promising
companies from across the industry. In doing so BSF intends to create an
environment in which its portfolio of companies can flourish and collaborate,
thereby accelerating their progress, potential and time to market.

To best achieve this, BSF's near term strategy is to ensure the different
companies under its umbrella can operate fully independently, each in
possession of its own intellectual property, business model, CEO, management
team, staff and accounting function.

This extra layer at the enterprise level will allow for a dedicated focus on
each individual subsidiary, leading to much greater efficiencies. Management
teams for each subsidiary will also be fully accountable for executing their
business models. Crucially, it will also provide for more flexible funding
options with the ability for investors or partners to fund an individual
subsidiary. This will enable the individual companies to secure funds as and
when required without diluting shareholders of BSF.

Currently BSF has four subsidiaries under its umbrella. These are the tissue
engineering company, 3DBT; corneal tissue replacement company, Kerato; BSF
Enterprise (Hong Kong) and cultivated meat manufacturing joint venture,
Cultivated Meat Technologies Ltd (CMT). 3DBT, Kerato and BSF Enterprise (Hong
Kong) are all 100% owned by BSF while CMT is a joint venture with
bioprocessing company, CellulaRevolution Ltd (CellRev), and is 50% owned by
BSF.

Within the next six months BSF will seek to separate its cultivated leather
business into a subsidiary company, Lab-Grown Leather Limited. The production
of cultivated leather is a different process from that of cultivated meat and
the markets for each product are highly distinct. Creating an independent
company for BSF's cultivated leather offering will be essential in ensuring
opportunities are maximised.

This will result in five distinct subsidiaries, and these can be seen in the
table below and on the BSF website at:
http://bsfenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/110124-BSF-Group-Structure.pdf
(http://bsfenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/110124-BSF-Group-Structure.pdf)
 

 BSF Enterprise PLC

 3DBT         Kerato       BSF Enterprise Hong Kong  CMT         Lab-Grown Leather Limited*

                           100% owned                            100% owned

 100% owned   100% owned                             50% owned

*To be established within the coming six months

3DBT Update

3DBT has made considerable progress in streamlining its City-Mix™
manufacturing, packaging, and distribution processes, aiming at increasing
operational efficiency and reducing running costs. City-Mix™ manufacturing
capacity remains on schedule to reach 12,500L per annum by 2025.

3DBT's flagship City-Mix(TM) cell-boosting product is currently being tested
by an extensive number of potential customers including cultivated meat
companies, universities and biotech businesses. Evaluations can take time due
to the complexities around specific formulations but the results to date have
been overwhelmingly positive, helping companies reduce their growth factor
costs by up to 75%. Several evaluations are near completion, with sales orders
expected. The Company is confident of significant growth for City-Mix(TM) in
the long term and the opportunity to form robust commercial partnerships with
both manufacturers and retailers.

There are multiple applications for City-Mix(TM) and the product is available
in a variety of formulations and bio-types appropriate to each. An image of
the City-Mix(TM) test kit can be viewed on the BSF website at the following
location:
http://bsfenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20240214-Sample-Pack-scaled.jpg
(http://bsfenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20240214-Sample-Pack-scaled.jpg)
 

Kerato Update

BSF's 100% owned Kerato was recently established as an independent company to
commercialise 3DBT's advanced intellectual property in lab-grown human corneal
products and accelerate the progression toward clinical trials. Two
applications are being developed, an Implantable Medical Device and an Ocular
Toxicity Testing Platform, which will be launched in 2028 and 2026,
respectively.

Kerato has a dedicated commercial team and has recently appointed a Managing
Director to oversee the development of product offerings and the execution of
the sales strategy.  This has already led to a collaboration with a major US
consumer goods company, with which the diverse applications of lab-grown
corneas are being explored.

BSF Enterprise (Hong Kong) Ltd (BSF HK) Update

BSF HK has been formed as a separate entity to establish a presence in Hong
Kong and develop a distribution network in the Greater China market, which
accounts for over a quarter of global meat consumption.

BSF HK is currently in discussions with numerous investors in the region
regarding the use of BSF's technologies in new meat processing plants. BSF HK
is also engaging with cultivated meat companies and  biotech companies
working in cultivated meat production, gene therapy, and regenerative medicine
and Life Sciences. The Chinese Bio-Pharmaceutical industry is substantial and
rapidly growing having increased from US$3 billion in 2016 to US$380 billion
in 2021.

CMT Update

In the prior quarter BSF formed Cultivated Meat Technologies Ltd (CMT) a Joint
Venture with CellulaRevolution Ltd (CellRev) aimed at solving critical issues
in the cultured meat industry including production at scale and at a cost that
can compete with traditional meat products.

CMT will combine CellRev's bioprocessing expertise with 3DBT's City-Mix™
animal-free cell culture supplement to the market with a premier manufacturing
platform with harmonised technology processes, licensing agreements, and
strategic partnerships.

The formalities of establishing the JV are being finalised this month and the
parties are forming a working group to set a clear strategy for the short to
medium term. Further updates will be forthcoming.

Lab-Grown Leather Limited

BSF is in the process of establishing a further subsidiary company, Lab-Grown
Leather Limited, expected to be completed in H2 2024. The new company will
help in scaling up technical development and operational sales of its animal
skin products, in order to meet the substantial market opportunity. The
leather goods market is currently valued at $253 billion in 2023 and is
forecast to grow to $405 billion by 2030.

BSF is currently in the process of hiring a dedicated CEO and management team
for Lab-Grown Leather Limited, alongside partners to finance the new business.
Commercial progress is already being made with BSF's leather offerings, having
already engaged with several companies within the leather industry in the UK
and abroad, establishing Proof of Concept (PoC) contacts. The Company is also
in the process of building a leather tanning capability within its laboratory
at Newcastle

 

Che Connon, Managing Director of BSF Enterprise and CEO of 3DBT, commented:
"Today's announcement aims to provide an update on the strategic direction and
development of the BSF Enterprise portfolio for investors. In recent months,
the Company has been focused on developing a suite of subsidiary companies and
growing specific teams of industry experts and management professionals to
lead these companies."

"This is important, given the intricacies of each target market, and will
allow each subsidiary to execute its own business model, accelerate the
technical progress of its own products and develop its own commercial
partnerships. We look forward to providing investors with updates on the
technical, operational and commercial progress of each company throughout the
year."

 

 

For further enquiries, please visit www.bsfenterprise.com
(http://www.bsfenterprise.com/)  or contact:

 BSF Enterprise PLC                       Via SEC Newgate below
 Geoff Baker - Executive Director

 Che Connon - CEO & Director

 Shard Capital (Broker)
 Damon Heath                              0207 186 9000

 Isabella Pierre                          0207 186 9927

 SEC Newgate (Financial Communications)
 Bob Huxford                              020 3757 6882

 Elisabeth Cowell                         BSF@secnewgate.co.uk

 George Esmond

 

ISIN of the Ordinary Shares is GB00BHNBDQ51

SEDOL Code is BHNBDQ5.

 

 

Notes to Editors

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 for testing to
help restore vision to millions of people. Building on this success, it aims
to produce the UK's first high quality lab-grown meat and leather from its
laboratory in Newcastle, transforming the meat-production industry and the
leather industry towards an ethical and sustainable practice.

 

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.

 

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