Synthetic Biology partners with AI to eliminate food allergies

About two children in every classroom suffer from food allergies. One in ten American adults is also found with one. For the unfortunate, one peanut can be a death penalty. Much more common, however, are food allergies and sensitivities that can have a profound effect on a person’s quality of life.

The problem is often molecular. For people with gluten sensitivity, a specific arrangement of atoms within a major plant protein is known to cause an immune response. But for many other troublesome foods, the true molecular stimulus is still unknown. So avoiding harmful foods so obviously – albeit grim – works.

“The only solution today is to avoid extreme severity,” said Anat Binur, CEO and co-founder of Ukko, the founder of Israeli food technology. Binur and co-founder Yanay Ofran Ukko started in 2016 in an effort to shift the paradigm on food allergies. Their mission apparently struck a chord. The company recently announced a $ 40M Series B funding round to streamline their efforts in eliminating food allergies.

The Funding Series was led by Leaps with Bayer – Bayer’s influential investment arm. “One of the big challenges we are tackling through our Leaps investments is trying to reverse autoimmune diseases. We are proud to lead this investment in Ukko and help address the biggest food allergies and vulnerabilities, ”Juergen Eckhardt, MD, Leaps CEO with Bayer, said in a press release. .

Ukko isn’t trying to make gluten-free pasta perfect or find a substitute for coconut butter – “yucky foods,” as Binur calls them. Instead, the company is going after the root of the problem by developing food proteins that cannot cause an allergic reaction in the first place.

“At the heart of our approach is our AI-driven platform, which allows us to turn to protein at a complementary level and meticulously innovate in a way that keeps the good and gets rid of the good. bad, ”Binur explained. For Ukko, this means maintaining the main biochemical and biochemical properties of food – including functionality, taste and health-promoting properties – while maintaining they remove the “bad” components that generate an allergic reaction.

Ukko initially focuses on two main food allergens: peanuts and gluten. But the company is taking two very different approaches to dealing with them. For peanuts, Ukko aims to create an edible drug that promotes immune tolerance for people with this allergy. For gluten, the company is developing hypoallergenic protein ingredients for food.

Food as Medicine

Peanuts are a leading cause of allergic death. In addition to hard-to-avoid avoidance, which locks children and parents into a stable state of life-or-death surveillance, those with obvious peanut allergies can try to protect their overprotectiveness. through immunotherapy. This involves eating a small amount of nut protein in a controlled position to build some tolerance. Unfortunately, those with the worst peanut allergies usually cannot eat even the least beneficial dose. For them, there are no options – the only way is sensitivity.

“One of the challenges is that we are currently consuming the coconut protein, so people have a lot of side effects because that’s what worries them,” says Onyinye Iweala, MD, Ph.D. food allergy specialist in the Department of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine not affiliated with Ukko.

To address this therapeutic gap, Ukko is developing hypoallergenic nut proteins that can use an immunotherapy option for all who need it. Because their proteins are engineered to contain fewer allergy-related components, those with even the strongest sensitivity can absorb them and thus improve some immunity.

“It is encouraging that they are trying this approach. If we could take some of the hypoallergenic nut protein that is specifically compounded and use that to make people tolerized to peanuts, we could reduce side effects, ”Said Iweala.

With Secure B Series B funding secured, the company plans to take their peanut proteins to clinical trials this year.

Gluten for all?

For the millions who suffer from gluten intolerance, Ukko sees a bright future.

“Gluten is responsible for all the delicious and juicy things we like about baked goods,” Binur explained. “When you take it out, it’s very difficult to create a wonderful croissant or baguette.”

Gluten-free alternatives are getting better, but they are not without its drawbacks. “You always have a trade-off between functionality and health. Get rid of gluten and now you have to compensate with sugars and other things. So you have something that is not very tasty and is not always healthy, ”says Binur.

Iweala also notes that it is easier for patients to avoid peanuts and walnuts because of the exposure that these allergies receive. “Wheat, eggs, soy and dairy products are much harder to avoid because the latter group of common allergens is often one of the top three ingredients in so many foods,” says Iweala.

If Ukko’s hypoallergenic gluten protein has been proven to be well tolerated in people with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, bakte products, and other gluten-filled dishes may be safe for everyone to eat, without the need for snacks or gluten-free warning leaflets.

“This year is going to be very important for us,” Binur said. “Here [Series B] funding is guiding our next step, reaching clinical trials on both the nut and gluten side, and getting the bread really ready for market entry. We are excited. ”

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Thank you to Iain Haydon for further research and reporting in this article. I am the founder of SynBioBeta, and some of the companies I write about are the sponsors of the SynBioBeta conference and weekly bone, including Leaps by Bayer.