Cologne, 18 March 2025 – Ningaloo Biosystems, a synthetic biology startup focused on expanding access to next-generation medicines, has closed a new financing round to scale its optogenetic bioproduction solutions. The funds will support the development of solutions for bioproduction processes towards complex biopharmaceuticals suited for pre-clinical and early-stage clinical phases.
The financing round was backed by NRW.BANK and private investors, such as capacura, who had participated in previous rounds. Additional funding was provided by an undisclosed family office and new business angels.
Ningaloo’s optogenetics-driven technology enables real-time control of cell activity using light, offering precise and dynamic process management in bioreactors. This approach enhances product development, mitigates scale-up risks, and improves both the yield and quality of complex biopharmaceuticals.
“We are grateful for the continued support from our investors as well as the commitment from the new investors as we advance our innovative approach to bioprocess control,” said Dr Herbert Mueller-Hartmann, co-founder and Managing Director of Ningaloo. “Our recent results demonstrate the potential of our technology to influence product quality and yield. With growing demand for affordable biologics, we aim to redefine biopharmaceutical manufacturing.”
Ningaloo’s technology has broad potential across biological drug production, with the most significant impact expected in complex proteins as well as cell and gene therapeutics.
With this new funding, the company will launch projects to further develop optogenetically controlled bioproduction for high-impact pharmaceutical applications. “We are committed to making next-generation therapies more accessible and affordable for patients worldwide,” added Dr Hanns-Martin Schmidt, co-founder and Head of R&D.
“We are excited about Ningaloo’s transformative approach to the future bioproduction and believe in the great business potential of real-time controlled bioprocessing. This is why in this round we doubled our initial investment into Ningaloo,” said Patrick Nesseler, Investment Manager at NRW.BANK
“Ningaloo pursues an exciting novel approach to making bioproduction sustainable,” added Claudia Schebela, Venture Partner at capacura. “Current production of the newest medicines is still incredible resource consuming. We believe their innovation will make a huge difference to biopharmaceutical customers, patients, and ultimately to the planet.”
About Ningaloo
Ningaloo Biosystems is pioneering advancements in biopharmaceutical production by engineering host cells for real-time process control through optogenetics. This approach enables cyber bioprocessing to achieve unprecedented efficiency in manufacturing complex proteins and gene therapeutics, ultimately reducing costs and expanding access to cutting-edge treatments.