REG - BSF Enterprise PLC - University Collaborations

BSF EnterpriseAnnouncement

20/03/2024 10:30

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RNS Number : 6068H  BSF Enterprise PLC  20 March 2024

20 March 2024

BSF Enterprise PLC

("BSF" or the "Company")

 

University Collaborations

 

BSF (LSE: BSFA), (OTCQB: BSFAF), the Main Market listed biotech company and
owner of pioneering UK-based tissue engineering company 3D Bio-Tissues Ltd
(3DBT) and corneal tissue replacement company Kerato Ltd, is delighted to
confirm that it has received grant funding to help support the progress of its
Lab-Grown Leather and Corneal product offering.

The first grant is a collaboration between 3DBT and Newcastle University to
work on the development of a cost-effective, ethical and sustainable ocular
toxicity model. The grant will support product development and research being
progressed at Kerato Ltd to reduce the reliance on animal testing when
carrying out ocular toxicity testing to demonstrate product safety for
new-to-market active ingredients and consumer goods products.

 

The four-month research project seeks to build on the findings from the
collaboration between Kerato and one of America's largest consumer goods
companies carried out in 2023, which successfully evaluated Kerato's lab-grown
corneas as potential alternatives in testing the safety and efficacy of their
wide range of chemical and pharma products. As previously announced, Kerato is
developing a new Ocular Toxicity Testing Platform, named Keratox ™, to
enable companies to test and understand a range of ocular toxicity endpoints
through a sustainable and cost-effective method. The project aims to advance
the Keratox™ prototype and manufacturing optimisation, bringing it closer to
market.

 

The second grant is a collaboration between 3DBT and the University of
Northampton. The project will use 3DBT's bio equivalent dermal tissue combined
with the University of Northampton's leather manufacturing knowledge for the
development of ethical and sustainable leather. The project will look to use
3DBT dermal tissue as a replacement for animal skin and hide, developing
processes to transform this innovative raw material into a premium material,
suitable for leather-based footwear, apparel, handbags, furniture, fashion,
automotive and accessories.

 

Bioequivalence can negate many of the harmful impacts of leather production.
Starting the process with only dermal tissue removes the early stages of
processing, which are responsible for 75% of the oxygen demand, 79% of
suspended solids, 100% of sulphide, 85% of nitrogen, 74% of chloride in
effluent, and the use of sodium sulphide and sodium hydrosulphide and their
considerable health and safety risks in leather production. Overall, the
project can help to create a cleaner leather that still utilises the vast
knowledge and skill of the leather manufacturing industry.

The partnership to produce in house processes for leather production follows
on from the successful work of 3DBT in bio-engineering samples of animal skin
tissue. In 2023, the Company produced animal skin tissue, which was used as
Proof of Concept (PoC) engagements with leather companies in the UK and abroad
to establish the suitability of the skin product as a sustainable, ethical
alternative to traditional leather goods.

Both successful grants were provided and supported by the Government agency
Innovate UK, which held a competitive and rigorous submission process, and
represent the role that 3DBT's technology will play in supporting the growth
of the BSF Enterprise umbrella companies' product development over the next
year. Both Kerato Ltd, established in 2023, and Lab-Grown Leather Limited, set
to be established in 2024, will be using 3DBT's transferable technology on a
fully costed model.

 

Che Connon, Managing Director of BSF Enterprise, commented: "These two
exciting projects mark the next step in the growth and development of our
lab-grown leather and cornea product solutions. 3DBT's technology is at the
forefront of producing bio-equivalent tissues for clinical and cellular
agriculture, applying novel bio-inspired manufacturing processes to generate
complex structures. Following the advent of Kerato Ltd in 2023 and with the
intention to establish Lab-Grown Leather in 2024, we are now working with
industry-leading universities to apply 3DBT's technologies with their
manufacturing knowledge to develop go-to-market products under the BSF
Enterprise brand."

 

About BSF Enterprise PLC:

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 leather from its laboratory in
Newcastle, transforming 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 develop 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.

 

 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

 

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