Enduro Genetics Raises €12 Million to Expand Its Bioproduction Platform in Denmark

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Enduro Genetics (Enduro), a Denmark-based synthetic biology startup, announced on Feb. 3, 2025 that it has raised €12 million (US$12.4 million) in Series A funding, which it will use to expand its patented cell programming technology, Enduro Sense, at its Copenhagen, Denmark, site to allow for scalable bioproduction. The investment round was led by the firms Supernova Invest, NOON Ventures, and Sandwater.

Enduro’s patented cell programming technology “addicts” cells to being high producers and is termed by the company as “synthetic addiction” technology (1). This technology, which was created by Peter Rugbjerg, the company’s founder and chief scientific officer, can be applied to microbial cells. Enduro Sense integrates a genetic plug-in into a microbial production host and couples each cell’s productivity to its health and growth. In this way, the technology ensures that only high-producing cells survive and thrive and effectively eliminates non-productive cells from the population. The ability to maintain a stable and productive microbial community can optimize the full potential of industrial biomanufacturing and enable consistent, scalable, and cost-efficient production, according to the company in the press release.

“Solving the cell-to-cell biomanufacturing challenge has plagued academia and industry for decades. Too many companies have been limited by the fact that only a minority of cells used in bioprocesses today contribute to high production. At Enduro, we’re redefining bioprocesses with a new optimization technology to unlock biotechnology’s full potential, which we use to boost already very high-performing processes. This funding allows us to accelerate client adoption and commercialization, and help manufacturers scale sustainably to drive meaningful change in industries that impact us all,” said Rugbjerg in the press release (1).

Enduro Sense can be applied to all expression systems where the microbial host shoulders the burden of production, regardless of organism or product type. The technology can be used in established processes as well as new processes under development. It addresses the problem of declining productivity at the industrial scale that has been challenging the global biomanufacturing industry, a market estimated at €400 billion (US$415 billion), for decades (1). The global biomanufacturing industry comprises everything from industrial enzymes, biodegradable materials, alternative proteins, and pharmaceuticals—all of which depend on genetically engineered microorganisms for production (1).

Large-scale industrial processes create conditions that can cause mutations in microorganisms (2), despite genetically optimized strains. These mutations cause cell-to-cell variation as cells prioritize survival over production. Non-productive cells then proliferate and outcompete productive cells for space and nutrients. In time, all the productive cells are gone, which causes a significant drop-off in yield over the course of the production cycle, thus impacting profitability and reducing efficiency (1).

“This new fundraise is a key milestone for Enduro. It is a testament to the team, the impact potential of our technology and the market validation we have achieved over the last two years. The funding allows us to accelerate our commercialization efforts, strengthen our technology platform and expand the technology for use in biopharmaceutical expression systems, and we are excited to take this next step with the strong backing of both our existing and new investors,” said Christian Munch, CEO of Enduro Genetics, in the press release.

References

1. Enduro Genetics. Enduro Genetics Raises €12 Million to Unlock the Future of Scalable Bioproduction. Press Release. Feb. 3, 2025.
2. Peng, M.; Liang, Z. Degeneration of Industrial Bacteria Caused by Genetic Instability. World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2020, 36, 119. DOI: 10.1007/s11274-020-02901-7