HELSINKI, FINLAND — Onego Bio, a US and Finnish-based precision fermentation company that manufacturers an animal-free egg protein replacer, has secured €14 million ($15.2 million) in funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator Program as well as additional Series A investors. The company has raised €50.5 million ($55 million) in 2024, which brings its total funding amount to €65 million ($70.8 million), according to the company.

Onego Bio said was selected from the council out of 969 applicants, with 347 companies interviewed by juries of investors and entrepreneurs and only 68 receiving funding. The accelerator selects startups or SMEs offering a high-impact product, service or business model that demonstrates the potential to scale and create new markets or disrupt existing ones in Europe and worldwide, according to the company.

Onego Bio was founded in 2022 by Maija Itkonen and Christopher Landowski as a spinoff from VTT, Technical Research Center of Finland.

The company manufactures its animal-free egg protein Bioalbumen using a patented fungal fermentation technology. Onego Bio said Bioalbumen may be bioidentical to the protein found in chicken egg white called ovalbumin. Bioalbumen features all essential amino acids, features a protein digestibility score PDCAAS of 1.0 and 90 grams of protein per 100 grams, according to the company.

With the funding, the company said it’s accelerating its US and European Union go-to-market plan in addition to gaining regulatory approval from the European Food Safety Authority. Its US go-to-market plan includes scaling up to industrial level production and expanding its US commercial team.

Onego Bio currently has commercial operations in San Diego producing its Bioalbumen with co-manufacturers. The company said it is finalizing plans for its first manufacturing facility and expects its full-scale manufacturing unit will feature two million liter fermentation capacity capabilities.

The funding also will accelerate Onego’s plans to submit a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notice to the Food and Drug Administration this year and aims to receive a “no questions” letter from the FDA in 2025.

“The new funding and immense support from our investors demonstrates their confidence in our vision and the potential of innovations like Bioalbumen to build a more sustainable system,” Itkonen said. “It also shows that the EU recognizes precision fermentation as a solution to address sustainability issues and enhance food security in Europe and worldwide. However, to remain competitive and fully capture the potential of exceptional European research and innovation, the regulatory approval process must be accelerated, as the EU currently lags behind other regions in this area.” 

The company recently completed a $40 million Series A round in April, which was aimed at driving commercialization and manufacturing of egg protein via precision fermentation.

The round was led by NordicNinja, a Japanese-Nordic VC that invests in companies within sustainability and digital society. That round also included $10 million non-dilutive funding from Business Finland, a public organization under the Finnish Government that supports innovation to accelerate systemic change.

Enjoying this content? Learn about more disruptive startups on the Food Entrepreneur page.