Cell Culturing Pre-Summit Workshop

Speaker: 
Po Bronson, Managing Director, INDIEBIO & General Partner, SOSV

• As the cell-based ecosystem continue to evolve will one model succeed over another, or will diversification strengthen the sector holistically?
• End-to-end solutions have dominated the cell-based market, but how are cell-based supply chains evolving with pick-and-shovel models, and what impact does this have?
• What exciting developments have been made with growth media & scaffolding technologies?
• With an increase of hybrid technologies combining cell and plant-based ingredients entering the space, what will the future of the cell based market look like and what exciting new products might emerge?

Host:
Thomas Van Den Boezem, Principal, PEAKBRIDGE VC

Speakers:
Romy M. Dalton, COO, COCOON BIOSCIENCE
Kevin Benmoussa, CFO, ALEPH FARMS
Patricia Bubner, CEO & Founder, ORBILLION BIO
Josh March, Co-Founder & CEO, SCIFI FOODS

• Scaling is CAPEX intensive, and in times of economic instability, what type of partnerships could provide opportunity for innovators to reach scale and proof of concept but at lower cost?
• Partnerships are crucial for progress across the value chain, how can new start-ups create a holistic business strategy to include open innovation and strategic partnerships?
• What role do CDMOs play in partnerships with innovators to enable scale and what is truly required in order to scale? What does successful collaboration look like?

Speaker:
Steve Thomas, Associate Director Applied Science and Industrial Biotechnology, CAMBRIDGE CONSULTANTS

In this session, delegates will break out into groups and work together to discuss potential solutions to a pressing industry problem. Each group will then present their findings at the end.

• Connecting with the Consumer through Effective Messaging
  Host: Lou Cooperhouse, Founder, President & CEO, BLUENALU
• Easing the Pain Points on Route to Market
  Companies trying to take cell-cultured food products to market are facing many difficulties along the way – lack of appropriate processing equipment, an uncertain legislative environment and difficulties in finding scale-up capital being frequently cited examples.  This session will be an opportunity to discuss and share resolutions to these difficulties as a mixed group of innovators, investors, technology providers and brands.
  Host: Steve Thomas, Associate Director Applied Science and Industrial Biotechnology, CAMBRIDGE CONSULTANTS
• State of the Start-Up Landscape
  Host: Nate Crosser, Principal, BLUE HORIZON

Advocates of digital transformation and cybersecurity teams are traditional adversaries in the boardroom.  But cyber has been going through a transformation of its own since 2019, with a shift from static defense to moving target defense postures. This is a talk from someone on the cyber resilience side of the aisle. He’ll cover what’s changed, and how to use that to get digital transformation done.

Speaker: Ian Schmertzler, President, DISPEL

Speaker: Sharyn Murray, Investor Engagement Manager, THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE

• How do the challenges for the plant-based space in 2022 foreshadow the path of other novel foods, including cell based? What are the drivers around this blip, and how can cell-based prevent this?
• What does this say about consumer adoption of new foods, and what should cell-based focused companies learn from this around the key drivers of nutritional profile, taste, texture & price?
• What role can education, branding & messaging play in consumer adoption? How can innovators communicate the technicality of cell-based foods without alienating the consumer, and overcoming the drive for ‘natural’?

Session Chair:
Rosie Wardle, Partner & Co-Founder, SYNTHESIS CAPITAL

Speakers:
Lou Cooperhouse, Founder, President & CEO, BLUENALU
Nicolas Morin-Forest, Co-Founder & CEO, GOURMEY

• With the recent historic approval for cell-cultivated meat in the USA, what does this mean for the future of cell-based foods?
• What impact will approvals have on the challenge of scale – will it be a gateway to funding for high CapEx facilities and scaling activities, or will approvals stall?
• What’s the best practice to achieve regulatory approval? How can innovators best engage with regulators and weave food safety into strategy, in order to reach approval?
• Both Singapore and the US have seen approvals, but what’s happening around the globe? Is there a need for a holistic approach to regulation for cell-based products?

Session Chair:
Nate Crosser, Principal, BLUE HORIZON

Speaker: 
Deepti Kulkarni, Partner, Food, Drug and Device Regulatory Practice Group, COVINGTON & BURLING
Russ Neldam, Head of Legal, MISSION BARNS

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