BSF Enterprise plc share price, company news, analysis and interviews

Discover how BSF Enterprise Plc is pioneering cell-based solutions, with a focus on lab-grown leather, biotech innovations, and veterinary breakthroughs.

BSF Enterprise PLC (LON:BSFA), the parent to a portfolio of innovative subsidiary companies developing cell-based tissue engineering solutions to deliver sustainable outcomes across a variety of sectors, has provided the following portfolio update.

●     Lab Grown Leather (LGL): Revolutionising the leather industry with the world’s first and only scaffold-free lab-grown leather, 3D Bio Tissues (3DBT), on behalf of LGL, is producing leather that is 100% pure animal tissue, cultivated entirely in a lab. Building on the team’s success in producing an animal skin tissue measuring up to 10 by 10 cm in size and over 2 mm in thickness, LGL has now developed a codified ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ that can be transferred, translated and adopted by other companies to develop lab-grown leather.  The ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ will be applied to the development of pilot-scale manufacturing operations over the next 12 months. This will enhance scale-up processes as LGL continues to provide samples to support partners and potential partners in the fashion industry.

●     Kerato Ltd:  Established to provide novel solutions for the treatment of corneal tissue damage, Kerato has developed another commercial product called the LiQD Cornea device. The injectable LiQD Cornea forms a self-sealing gel upon contact with corneal tissue that suppresses inflammation and facilitates damage repair through the remodelling of healthy tissue. Veterinary trials will commence in 2024 with a view to launching the LiQD Cornea veterinary device in 2026. We aim to commence the first-in-human clinical trials of the implantable medical device in 2026, generating evidence to support regulatory approvals in our first target markets and market launch in 2028.

●    3D Bio Tissues: 3DBT is currently in the process of launching its new CytoBoost^TM media additive, designed to facilitate cell culture processes and the implementation of animal free media for the biopharma industry. Using the same technology as City-Mix^TM, CytoBoost^TM can be used for different applications at significantly higher price points. Commercial scale of City-Mix^TM is moving to an OEM model that significantly reduces costs of production, packaging and shipment whilst ensuring that the large volumes required by the cultivated meat companies can be guaranteed. This also frees up in-house production capacity for CytoBoost^TM. 

●     Cultivated Meat Technologies (CMT): The Company and its Joint Venture (JV) partner CellulaRevolution Ltd (CellRev) have together agreed the commercial strategy for CMT as they finalise the legal terms of their JV, expected in the coming weeks. During the first two years of operation, CMT will develop a technology platform to enable commercial partners to manufacture their range of cultivated meat products to take to market. It will seek to secure partnerships with major UK & European food processors, producers and retailers as well as government-funded food security initiatives.

●     BSF Hong Kong (Ivy Farm): The Company is successfully operating out of its HK office this year, accessing potential strategic partners in the largest cultivated meat and leather market in the world. The strategic partnership with Ivy Farm continues to grow and our HK office is helping them source HK and Chinese capital to build a cultivated meat facility in the region.

Che Connon, Managing Director of BSF Enterprise and CEO of 3DBT, commented: “BSF’s core strategy is to drive the development of lab-grown tissues through acquiring, investing in, or developing joint ventures with the most promising companies from across the industry. We are making strong progress across our portfolio of companies, delivering new initiatives which will enable them to flourish and collaborate and thereby accelerate their progress, potential and time to market. This strategy is evident in Lab-Grown Leather, where we continue to experience excellent feedback from industry, and we anticipate the Standard Operating Procedure to enable us to make the delivery of materials much more efficient as we focus on expanding our development partnerships in the fashion industry.”

BSF Enterprise plc (LON:BSFA), the Main Market listed biotech company and owner of corneal tissue replacement company Kerato Ltd, has announced that Kerato Ltd has entered into a Heads of Terms agreement and research partnership with the University of Montreal in Canada.

BSF’s 100% owned Kerato is an independent company established to commercialise new innovations in tissue engineering towards in vitro and in vivo corneal use.

As part of this strategy, Kerato will work with the University of Montreal, combining tissue engineering expertise to further develop an in-situ gelling cornea that offers a novel treatment for corneal damage and full thickness perforations.

Corneas are the most frequently transplanted human tissue worldwide, with around 185,000 procedures per annum¹. However, it is estimated that 55% of the world’s population do not have access to donor material¹ with an estimated 12.7 million people worldwide waiting for a transplan^t2. The global artificial cornea and corneal implant market was valued at $ 421 million in 2021³, of which Kerato estimates its serviceable market to be $37.6 million.  The total market is expected to grow at 6.9% per annum to reach $ 767.5 million by 2030³.

Kerato’s treatment combines host corneal stromal cells with a synthetic extracellular matrix protein sequence to support tissue healing and re-epithelialization of the surface of the eye.  Administered via injections to repair damaged tissue rather than performing full transplant surgery, the treatment is expected to greatly reduce the complexity of procedures for many patients. This is expected to reduce time in hospital, decrease the likelihood of graft rejection, reduce costs for health service providers and result in better patient outcomes.

New tissue resulting from the treatment comprising the patient’s own stromal cells, is transparent and replicates the natural curvature of the eye. Stromal cells comprise the extracellular matrix that provide structural support for organs. Kerato’s Intellectual property and academic partners have previously demonstrated the critical role of corneal stromal cells in engineering a healthy extracellular matrix, and the impact that biomechanics can have on tissue regeneration.³

The partnership with the University of Montreal will build on the successful pre-clinical studies and academic work of Professor May Griffith, advancing the translation of the prototype corneal treatment and taking it through safety and efficacy studies, completing clinical trials and gaining regulatory approvals before launching on to international markets.

To de-risk this (as well as shorten time to market) the new approach will first be trialled in the veterinary space giving animal owners much greater access to complex corneal repair treatments.

Kerato’s aim is to commercialise its advanced intellectual property in tissue engineering and bio-engineered corneal products and accelerate progression toward clinical and veterinary trials. Two applications are being developed, an Implantable Medical Device and an Ocular Toxicity Testing Platform.

Sarah Greenhalgh, Managing Director at Kerato Ltd said: “This project with the University of Montreal marks the next step in the growth and development of Kerato’s corneal regenerative therapy technologies. Stromal stem cells significantly contribute to corneal clarity by replenishing damaged or aged keratocytes. We are excited to be working on a transformative treatment for the repair of corneal damage which can reduce costs for healthcare providers and support improved patient outcomes.”

¹Gain P, Jullienne R, He Z, Aldossary M, Acquart S, Cognasse F, Thuret G. Global Survey of Corneal

Transplantation and Eye Banking. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Feb;134(2):167-73. doi:

10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2015.4776. PMID: 26633035

²Gain P, Jullienne R, He Z, et al. Global Survey of Corneal Transplantation and Eye Banking. JAMA Ophthalmol.

2016;134(2):167-173. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2015.4776

³Artificial Cornea and Corneal Implant Market Report, 2030 (strategicmarketresearch.com), accessed 9/04/24

⁴Gouveia, R.M., Lepert, G., Gupta, S. et al. Assessment of corneal substrate biomechanics and its effect on epithelial stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Nat Commun 10, 1496 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09331-6

BSF Enterprise is the parent to a portfolio of innovative subsidiary companies focused on developing and commercialising cell-based tissue engineering solutions to deliver sustainable outcomes across a variety of sectors.

BSF Enterprise plc (LON: BSFA), (OTCQB: BSFAF), the Main Market listed biotech company and owner of pioneering UK-based tissue engineering company 3D Bio-Tissues Ltd (3DBT) and corneal tissue replacement company Kerato Ltd, has received over £90,000 to date in payments and funding for several proof-of-concept (PoC) agreements for the development of cultivated leather samples.

In 2023, 3DBT agreed to provide a major multinational leather fashion company with three bio-engineered samples of animal skin tissue, measuring up to 10 by 10 cm in size and between 0.5 mm to 1 mm in thickness. The partnership was carried out to look at the validity and suitability of 3DBT’s cultivated skin as a sustainable, ethical alternative for leather tanning and the production of traditional leather goods.

Following the conclusion of a 60-week study, in which 3DBT’s PoC study successfully achieved and fulfilled the technical and operational requirements of the agreement, a more formal strategic and financial partnership has since continued with 3DBT now developing bio-engineered samples measuring up to 10 by 10 cm in size and 2 mm in thickness. To date, BSF has received over £50,000 in initial payments from the partnership.

The production of tissues with such thickness and their successful application with a prominent global leather production company represents an important milestone for 3DBT and the wider cultivated tissue industry. 3DBT is currently engaged in several Proof of Concept (PoC) projects with other leather companies to establish the suitability of its skin product as a sustainable, ethical alternative to traditional leather. We hope to make a further update on formal commercial agreements in the coming months.

Additionally, BSF Enterprise has now won £38,000 in grant funding from the Government agency Innovate UK to begin its project with the University of Northampton. The project will use 3DBT’s bio-equivalent dermal tissue, combined with the University of Northampton’s leather manufacturing knowledge, for the development of ethical and sustainable leather. The project will look to use 3DBT dermal tissue as a replacement for animal skin and hide, developing processes to transform this innovative raw material into a premium material, suitable for leather-based footwear, apparel, handbags, furniture, fashion, automotive and accessories.

3DBT cultivates skin tissue using its patented City-Mix ™ supplement, a booster for the media in which cells are grown, that provides numerous advantages over traditional cellular agriculture media. These include higher production yields; the need for fewer expensive supplements; and the elimination of animal-derived serum, such that no animals suffer in the production process. Therefore, the leather skin samples are 100% animal tissue.

BSF Enterprise continues to progress and achieve its strategic objectives laid out at the beginning of the year. The Company is sufficiently funded for all near-term activity and has no current plans for a fundraise. Any additional funding may be achieved at a subsidiary level to prevent the dilution of shareholders.

Che Connon, Managing Director of BSF Enterprise, commented: “Today’s announcements represent another milestone in the development and application of 3DBT’s City-mix ™ technology in delivering successful high-quality cultivated tissue to clients within the leather industry. We look forward to seeing these commercial and research partnerships continue to grow as we increase our production capacity to enable further development of cultivated skin on a larger scale to meet the growing demand.”