SpidrFibR™: A spider silk prototype with endless potential Five times stronger than steel while more flexible than rubber, spider silk is one of nature’s most exquisite materials. With nearly endless applications from advanced sutures to ballistic protection, scientists have been trying to replicate spider silk for decades. Using spider silk proteins, the prototype SpidrFibR™ has excellent mechanical properties and shows excellent potential for applications in the green textile industry, and in bio-composite development for aerospace engineering and defence. The SpidrFibR™ prototypes show strength greater than steel and further work is ongoing.
Dry-Spinning Fiber Production
3D BioFibR Inc. is a Dalhousie University spin-off company which uses a proprietary “dry-spinning” process (mimicking spiders) to produce low denier, multifilament fibers from proteins (e.g. collagen and spider silk). 3D BioFibR focuses on protein-based fibers, predominantly collagen, braided and woven to medical device OEMs and 3D in vitro tissue culture.
2021-09-23
3D BioFibR Inc., a biofibre manufacturing company, announced today it has raised over $700,000 in an oversubscribed follow-on round. Proceeds from the financing will be used to continue to scale-up manufacturing capabilities of their collagen and spider silk fibres with an eye towards securing commercial partnerships.
Participants in this capital raise included further investments from current investors, including Concrete Ventures, as well as new investors, including Globalive Capital.
Kevin Sullivan: Chief Executive Officer at 3D BioFibR Inc. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
“We appreciate the continued confidence our investors have in the Company’s ability to advance our proprietary biofibre manufacturing process,” said Kevin Sullivan, CEO of 3D BioFibR. “As we continue to de-risk our manufacturing platform, our focus is now shifting to a higher level of engagement with industry to secure commercial partnerships, with our first focus on the tissue culture and tissue engineering applications.”
3D BioFibR Inc. was incorporated in July of 2020. The Company closed its first round of financing on October 19, 2020, raising $550,000. These funds were used to successfully demonstrate that their proprietary biofiber manufacturing process works well for diverse sets of cell types used in a range of biocomposite applications. Funds from this current round of financing will allow the Company to focus on optimizing the automation of its manufacturing process to be ready for first market sales in the second half of 2022.
“Our unique dry spinning manufacturing process can generate high quality collagen scaffolds that are ideal for 3D cell culture and tissue-engineering applications,” said Dr. John Frampton, Chief Scientific Officer at 3D BioFibR. “It is exciting to see the transition from a lab based process to an automated system of production. These advancements will enable us to meet the market need for consistent, high quality products at commercial scale production levels.”
CollaFibR™ 3D Scaffold: A 3D scaffold for cell growth composed of 200 layers of CollaFibR™ in a cross-hatched geometry is shown. This scaffold is assembled layer-by-layer, allowing for control over fiber direction and thickness. Compared to other 3D cell culture products such as Matrigel®, this product has superior batch-to-batch consistency, induces cellular alignment, and has adequate thickness for cell migration.
“We are excited to see 3D BioFibR producing collagen and spider silk fibres at a scale and quantity that no other commercial process can match,” said Patrick Hankinson, Partner at Concrete Ventures. “The team at 3D BioFibR has real potential to become a best-in-class biofibre manufacturer of premium products for use in tissue culture and medical applications, as well as in the performance textile industry.”
“We find great ideas and founders in Atlantic Canada that are ready to build massively scalable businesses and work with them to grow their businesses.”
Patrick Hankinson – Partner at Concrete Ventures – has the perfect mix of operating and investing experience that can truly help scale companies. He was a co-founder of Tether, which grew into a multi-million dollar profitable business. He was also a founder of Compilr, which was acquired by lynda.com and subsequently LinkedIn.
He is a key member of the East Coast startup community as a mentor and investor. He has personally invested in 14 companies and is actively involved in a number of local entrepreneurial organizations. He has also served on various boards.
“We find great ideas and founders in Atlantic Canada that are ready to build massively scalable businesses and work with them to grow their businesses.”
“We find great ideas and founders in Atlantic Canada that are ready to build massively scalable businesses and work with them to grow their businesses.”
