June 14, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Originally founded under the name Higher Steaks in Cambridge, England, by Benjamina Bollag and Dr. Ruth Faram, biotech startup Uncommon’s novel approach to cultivated meat production has grabbed the attention of some high profile investors, including Max and Sam Altman (OpenAI and ChatGPT).

At the center of Uncommon’s business model is RNA, the oldest molecule on the planet that controls the biological processes of all living things, and contains the chemical instructions that direct a cell in how to make a protein. And while RNA-based products in relation to plant and life sciences have been in existence for a while, Uncommon is one of the first startups to use this technology in connection with cellular agriculture to make cuts of meat. 

The company explained that it secures stem cells from traditionally farmed animals, and then uses a process called reprogramming through which the cells can grow ad infinitum and differentiate into any type of cell needed to form new tissue. 

This advanced and unique approach gives Uncommon the ability to rapidly reach price parity with conventional meats, and to scale its creation of safer, healthier products without the use of genomic editing. 

Balderton and Lowercarbon took notice, leading a $30 million Series A for the company with participation from Red Alpine, East Alpha, and previous investors Max and Sam Altman, Miray Zaki, and Sebastiano Gastiglioni.

“From a young age, I have always been aware of how diets and food choices can have a disproportionate impact on our health,” said Benjamina Bollag, founder and CEO, Uncommon. “This led me to found Uncommon, a bio creation company that uses the power of cells to tackle the most pressing challenges to our health, starting with cultivated pork.”

Not only does this technology eliminate the need for genomic editing, it also eliminates the use of antibiotics, animal products or toxic small molecules, and significantly reduces the raw materials needed for alternative protein production, while radically accelerating the availability of cultured meat. 

Citing extensive research based on Nobel Prize-winning findings and pioneering biomimicry, Uncommon stated that it capitalizes on exceptional insights to build complex proteins and fats with authentic flavor and nutritional benefits. And this commitment to quality has resulted in the company achieving the optimum balance of taste, nutrition, and flavor with scalability, sustainability and cost. 

“As the only cultivated meat leveraging RNA technologies, we believe we have a competitive advantage that could help us become the largest protein company in the world,” said Ballag.

“I’m delighted with the progress we’ve made so far as a company and look forward to working closely with our new and existing investors to continue to build on this progress and make a difference to global health.

Uncommon’s platform also poses a solution to climate change.

An assessment released in 2021 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition determined that reducing farming-generated methane levels is of high priority for fighting climate change.

Livestock emissions from both gastrointestinal release and manure account for about 32 percent of all methane emissions caused by human activity, such as farming. But why is methane so harmful? 

The aforementioned report explains that methane is the primary cause of the formation of ground-level ozone – a dangerous pollutant and greenhouse gas responsible for 1 million premature deaths each year. Furthermore, as a greenhouse gas, methane is 80 times more potent at causing global warming compared to CO2, over a 20-year period. 

Additionally, more than one-third of the world’s total antibiotic use is solely for pigs in China. This overuse is resulting in growing antibiotic resistance which is predicted to kill more people by 2050 than cancer. 

Despite these harrowing environmental and health facts, Uncommon noted that data has shown that very few consumers are prepared to change their diets in the long-term – a sentiment that they say is reflective in the fact that plant-based meat sales fell by 14 percent in 2022. 

The advances in cellular ag and cultivated meat production developed by Uncommon can address these issues while ushering in a cost-effective future in food production that sidesteps regulatory hurdles associated with genetic modification and editing to deliver sustainable products that are the same as traditional meat down to the molecular level. 

The potential here is driving expectations that the cultivated meat sector will reach a value of $427 billion by 2040, and through the production of its groundbreaking products, Uncommon expressed its aim to own 5 percent of the global pork market by 2035. 

The capital gained through this funding round will be used by the company to help continue to bring down the cost of production, apply for regulatory approval, and to scale up production at its pilot manufacturing facility at Cambridge Technopark while doubling the size of its team over the next 18 months. 

“The cultivated meat industry faces significant challenges, from the cost of materials to regulation and scaling,” said Daniel Waterhouse, partner, Balderton. “We’re convinced that Uncommon has the formula to become a global leader that will transform how we eat and enjoy meat. We’re excited to be backing Uncommon and look forward to working with Benjamina and the team as they embark on this next growth stage.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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