Saku Biosciences

Saku Biosciences is building tools to scale biomanufacturing. Our technology enables companies to rapidly develop high-performance cell lines that produce proteins, enzymes, and other biological products more efficiently. The company is built around PicoShells, a particle technology that allows scientists to grow and screen millions of individual cells under conditions that closely mimic industrial fermentation. This approach makes it possible to identify the best-performing strains far faster than traditional methods. By accelerating strain engineering and process development, Saku helps biotechnology companies reduce development timelines, lower manufacturing costs, and bring new products to market faster across industries including food, chemicals, and biopharma.

Biomanufacturing can transform industries from food and chemicals to pharmaceuticals, but getting products to market is slowed by the long timelines required to develop high-performing production strains. Cell line development often takes years of iterative engineering and testing, and many strains that perform well in early lab screening fail when scaled to industrial fermentation. This disconnect between laboratory development and real manufacturing conditions forces companies to repeat costly cycles, delaying commercialization and slowing innovation across the bioeconomy.

1. Two separate $200k contracts with CyanoCapture to enhance GLP-1 and insulin production
2. $100k LOI with De Novo Foodlabs
3. $200k DOE-funded collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, Sandia National Laboratories, and Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit (ABPDU)