CULT Food Science, an investment platform which focuses on cellular agriculture and clean, lab-grown food, said Kenya-based Sydsel Africa has officially been selected to join its CULT PRIZE initiative aimed at bolstering the company’s scientific research and intellectual property incubation platform.
"We are excited to announce Sydsel as a semi-finalist of the CULT PRIZE competition. After careful examination of Sydsel's intriguing proposal and innovative concepts, our management team felt that developing 3D scaffolds using plant-based materials for the cell-based space was exactly the type of creative thinking that the world needs to create a more sustainable food system," CULT President Lejjy Gafour said in a statement.
First announced in November 2021, the CULT PRIZE is a two-year CA$1 million global competition to incentivize collaborative research programs to advance novel technologies and a complete cellular agriculture ecosystem.
Designed to attract the best ideas in cultivated meat, cultured dairy, and other cell-based foods, the company said it is screening and picking the “most exciting and commercially viable research proposals." Promising entries will be seeded with initial growth capital to begin executing on their visions, said CULT.
As part of the competition, participants are tasked with developing novel cell lines, scaffolding and growth media, while demonstrating economic viability and a lower comparable environmental footprint to existing technologies.
Established in Kenya in 2019, Sydsel has commercial experience in producing fermentation-driven proteins and fermented fats. As part of the CULT PRIZE, Sydsel will focus on generating IP around the production of next-generation 3D scaffolding proteins. By optimizing the proteins for cell-based meats, Sydsel hopes to develop defendable IP that is commercially viable for plant-based products in the interim, prior to the mainstream adoption and regulation of cellular agriculture-derived meat products.
CULT, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company advancing novel technologies to provide a sustainable solution to the global factory farming crises, pointed out that Sydsel’s inclusion in the competition validates its thesis that innovations in 3D scaffoldings may play a valuable role in the adoption and commercialization of cellular agriculture.
Sydsel’s participation in the CULT PRIZE results in the company being entitled to the following exclusive R&D streams:
- The option to acquire one-third of the IP generated by Sydsel’s research for a nominal amount;
- The right-of-first-refusal for Sydsel’s IP in the event that a third-party endeavours to acquire an interest in Sydsel;
- The right-of-first-refusal on all future capital required by Sydsel;
- CULT appointed to be Sydsel’s exclusive business advisor; and
- The option to acquire an exclusive license to Sydsel’s IP in North America for a nominal amount.
"Sydsel has advanced in the CULT PRIZE competition, and we encourage more applicants to enter as it remains open at this time. By exploring synergies and collaborations as part of the incubation program, CULT is aiming to provide Sydsel with access to valuable relationships and co-collaborators to help advance the future of cell-based foods," Gafour added.
To apply for the CULT PRIZE, please click here.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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