ORF Genetics and Seawith Enter into Partnership for Growth Factors and Cultivated Meat Production

Kópavogur, Iceland, October 2, 2023 — The Icelandic ORF Genetics and the South Korean company SeaWith have announced a pioneering partnership to boost the production of cultivated meat using ORF’s MESOkine animal-free growth factors made from barley.

The collaboration, outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marks a significant step forward in the pursuit of zero-emission and environmentally sustainable meat production methods. SeaWith anticipates that by securing a stable supply of growth factors from ORF Genetics the product commercialization of cultivated meat will be greatly accelerated. SeaWith’s goal is to introduce cultivated meat products under the “Welldone” brand to the market by the year 2025.

The Memorandum also highlights plans for further joint research and development initiatives in the realm of growth factors for cultivated meat production.

Berglind Rán Ólafsdóttir, CEO of ORF Genetics, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “This collaboration represents a significant milestone for ORF Genetics, as we are already at the forefront of growth factor production for cultivated meat. This partnership will reinforce our position in this rapidly expanding market. We are also very excited to partner up with SeaWith on further research and development in this field.”

Cultivated meat, produced without the need for any animal feeding, slaughtering, or extensive land use, boasts significantly lower carbon emissions compared to traditional meat production methods, or next to zero. ORF Genetics specializes in producing animal-free growth factors crucial for cultivated meat production, derived from barley under the MESOkine brand.

SeaWith is a cultivated meat company based in South Korea. SeaWith utilizes brown algae as 3D cell culture scaffolds and micro-algae extract as a serum replacement in cell culture media. They unveiled the prototype at the tasting event in 2021 and are now preparing for scale-up. SeaWith’s goal is to introduce sustainable meat products, particularly cultivated beef using cells derived from the Korean native Han-Woo breed, under the “Welldone” brand to the market by the year 2025. The partnership with ORF Genetics is a significant step toward achieving that objective.

Lee Hee-jae, CEO of SeaWith, said, “Through this collaboration, we have laid the foundation for securing materials for stable mass production of cultured meat,” adding, “We are working on securing research and development and production facilities with the goal of commercializing our own brand ‘Welldone’ products in 2025. Now we can accelerate even more in this rapidly growing and crucial market.”