BigHat Biosciences Completes Its Acquisition of Frugi Biotechnology

Acquisition to accelerate scaling of BigHat’s AI/ML-enabled drug discovery platform

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BigHat Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing safer, more effective next-generation antibody therapies for patients using machine learning and synthetic biology, today announced the acquisition of Frugi Biotechnology, a biotechnology company developing cost-effective and high-quality cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) technology. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

BigHat plans to integrate this CFPS technology into its novel AI/ML-enabled drug discovery platform to allow BigHat to rapidly scale to meet the growing demands for its platform from partners and for internal therapeutic programs. With this acquisition, BigHat brings in-house a reliable supply of one key input to BigHat’s drug discovery platform.

"Cell-free protein synthesis is a foundational technology for BigHat's platform, allowing us to rapidly synthesize and test antibodies in a matter of days. We are excited to join forces with the incredible team at Frugi to further develop our cell-free synthesis capabilities," said Peyton Greenside, BigHat’s CSO and co-founder.

Frugi Biotechnology’s proprietary, and scalable CFPS technology will facilitate further research to improve CFPS for antibody production. Adam Carr, Frugi’s co-founder and VP of technology, will join BigHat and continue developing and integrating this technology into BigHat’s platform.

“We have been enthusiastically watching the progress of BigHat from their launch, and see tremendous potential in the platform they are building; we are honored to join such a world-class team,” said Dr. Nigel Reuel Associate professor at Iowa State University, co-founder and CEO at Frugi Biotechnology.

About Frugi Biotechnology, Inc.

Frugi Biotechnology makes a cost-effective and reliable expression system available for cell free protein applications. The methods are derived from a RAPID NSF PFI project spun out of Iowa State University. Frugi operates out of a facility in Ames, Iowa.

About BigHat Biosciences, Inc.

Founded in 2019, BigHat Biosciences is a Series A biotechnology company in the San Francisco Bay Area. BigHat is led by a team of experts spanning machine learning, molecular biology, drug development, and medicine. BigHat is supported by a cadre of world leaders, including a Nobel Laureate and the physician-scientist that brought Herceptin to market. To date, BigHat has raised $25M from top investors led by a16z and 8VC and is quickly succeeding on partnerships with large biopharma partners. In addition to these collaborations, BigHat has active therapeutic programs spanning multiple domains of human health, including inflammation, oncology, hematology, and infectious diseases in preclinical studies.