Sunflower Therapeutics Closes $3M Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) with Oversubscription

By: Sunflower Therapeutics via Business Wire

December 03, 2024 at 08:05 AM EST

Sunflower’s collaboration with Clear Current Capital is one of many partnerships driving the company’s ongoing product commercialization goals.

Sunflower Therapeutics (Sunflower), a public benefit corporation transforming global access to protein manufacturing capacity for diverse applications, announced today the oversubscription of a $3M Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), which underscores ongoing support for the company’s commercial goals.

This oversubscription provides the necessary runway to support the continued launch of Sunflower’s innovative Daisy Petal™ and Dahlia Petal™ perfusion fermentation systems. These systems exemplify the company’s continuous manufacturing equipment, which boasts space-time yield benefits five to ten times greater for diverse proteins compared to traditional fed-batch methods. This approach not only enhances efficiency but also promotes sustainability, making it a compelling choice for biopharma, Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers (DCVM), and the alternative protein sector.

"We are thrilled to have secured the $3M SAFE," said Dr. Kerry R. Love, CEO of Sunflower Therapeutics. "These investments highlight the importance of our mission and will empower us to bring our innovative equipment to market, strengthening our capabilities and expanding our presence in the alternative protein sector.”

Clear Current Capital, a venture capital firm shaping a sustainable future for the planet, people, and animals, and a contributor to the SAFE, reflects on its collaboration with Sunflower.

“There is no path to commercial viability for commodity food ingredients made through precision fermentation without major innovation around the bioprocess,” said Steve Molino, Partner & Head of Investments at Clear Current Capital. “Sunflower’s proprietary continuous fermentation offerings not only allow for a major reduction in CAPEX and OPEX for operators in the space, but the automation it provides can also unlock decentralized production globally, further accelerating progress in the bioeconomy.”

Sunflower is set to sell equipment to biomanufacturers globally, supporting product development with thoughtful and resourceful services. As demonstrated by the recent partnership with SK bioscience, this financing not only enhances awareness of Sunflower’s equipment and service capabilities but also highlights their strategic entry into the alternative protein sector with organizations and companies like Clear Current Capital’s support. This will expand Sunflower’s product offerings into new markets, such as alternative foods and bioindustrial segments. With global food demands expected to increase by more than 50 percent in 2050, the impact of Sunflower’s technology is both timely and transformative.

To learn more, please visit sunflowertx.com.

About Sunflower Therapeutics

Sunflower Therapeutics is a unique biotech with a mission to transform bioeconomies worldwide by creating accessible solutions for protein product development and commercial manufacturing. Using our core technologies – an efficient host, data-driven methods for process development, and continuous biomanufacturing equipment – our team aims to democratize bioprocessing.

About Clear Current Capital

Clear Current Capital is an intention-driven investor committed to shaping a sustainable future for the planet, people, and animals. By improving the multi-trillion-dollar food system, Clear Current Capital takes a strategic, thematic investment approach, backing founders at the earliest stages across five critical themes: creating alternatives, lifting productivity, engaging consumers, addressing waste, and reinventing essentials.