Quzyme Bio: Engineering Drives the Dawn of Industrialization in Synthetic Biology

Currently, the integration of synthetic biology with traditional chemical engineering is triggering a revolutionary transformation in synthetic processes. Due to the specificity and scarcity of natural enzymes, traditional production catalysis is constrained by raw material capacity and catalytic applications, making it difficult to penetrate broader markets. As a key innovation in compound synthesis, biocatalysis leverages both naturally evolved enzymes and artificially engineered novel enzymes to promote high efficiency, environmental sustainability, and functionality in chemical reactions. The application of this technology is expanding from traditional sectors such as food and agriculture to emerging fields including bio-based materials, biopharmaceuticals, and energy.

In 2017, Nanjing Qumei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Qumei Biotech”) started with the enzyme-catalyzed production of bulk industrial products, accumulating extensive experience in engineering and product commercialization. Since 2017, Qumei Biotech has entered the field of synthetic biology, attempting to cascade enzymes within living biological cells for process development.Specifically, Qumei Biotech provides industrial clients with “natural” bio-based products, supplying raw materials for sectors including food, materials, agrochemicals, energy, and biopharmaceuticals. Its proprietary processes utilize plant-based feedstocks (such as starch and glucose) and biomass feedstocks (such as corn stover, rice straw, and wheat straw), ensuring compliance with “carbon neutrality” and “green chemistry” standards while establishing a sustainable development pathway.

VCBeat Exclusive Interview with Dr. Lin Tao, Founder and CEO of Qumei Bio: After Seven Years of Entrepreneurship, How Is Qumei Bio Delivering a Novel Solution for Bio-based Materials Through Innovation and Engineering? What Breakthroughs Will the 1,000-Ton Production Facility, Commissioned in 2024, Bring?

According to McKinsey, bio-based manufacturing can cover 70% of chemically manufactured products, and the economic impact of synthetic biology and bio-based manufacturing is projected to reach $100 billion by 2025. Data from BCC Research also indicates that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the synthetic biology sector reached 26% between 2017 and 2022. As technologies such as gene programming, synthesis, and sequencing continue to mature, synthetic biology will bring innovative technologies and prospects to numerous industries, including biomedicine, bioenergy, and agricultural biotechnology.

However, the burgeoning biomanufacturing industry still faces two major challenges: product selection and mass production.In the context of actual corporate R&D and production, this can be summarized into two key questions: First, compared with traditional chemical products, what are the competitive advantages of synthetic biology, and does it meet the substitution logic of cost reduction and efficiency improvement? Second, can the enterprise establish a complete closed loop in this product segment and avoid homogeneous competition?

Lin Tao noted that the synthetic biology industry is still in its early stages, with immature regulatory policies and market awareness, yet its products face competition from chemical manufacturing and natural extraction technologies that have been developed over more than a century.“In practical applications of synthetic biology, we often find that after years of arduous effort to develop a product, the market size remains small, sometimes even failing to cover costs. On one hand, there is an information asymmetry between supply and demand regarding product development and market needs. Blockbuster products capable of capturing large-scale markets are exceedingly rare, while most products developed using synthetic biology technologies involve significant technical challenges and long development cycles, potentially requiring more than a decade to reach mature production. On the other hand, scaling up innovative bio-based products from laboratory-scale trials to industrial production is extremely difficult, with problems frequently arising during the transition to manufacturing. This underscores that while innovation and speed are important, engineering capabilities and industrialization are ultimately what drive results in synthetic biology.”

QuMei Biotech has adopted the innovative approach of “molecular building blocks” to address the challenge of product selection.Molecular Building BlocksMolecular building blocks originally refer to small-molecule compounds used for designing and constructing bioactive substances, with wide applications in drug discovery, materials science, and other fields. As advanced intermediates, molecular building blocks enable the rapid synthesis of novel compounds through primary or secondary reactions during research and development, thereby facilitating the construction of compound libraries for the discovery and screening of new products.

QuMei Bio has extended this concept in the direction of bio-based innovation, with the key lying in leveraging the characteristics of the “molecular building block” model—namely, structural diversity, functional diversity, and R&D controllability, modifiability, and reproducibility. This approach will rapidly expand market value by integrating multiple product development pipelines, while the co-development of related products will reduce R&D complexity and costs, thereby increasing the success rate of mass production.Lin Tao stated, “A robust product pipeline centered on molecular building blocks can address the urgent market demand for natural alternatives to chemical products, while also expanding into underserved segments within the synthetic biology sector. Both markets are poised for rapid growth.”

To establish a pipeline of block-based molecular products, Qumei Bio first built a comprehensive foundational library.Leveraging its strategic partnership with the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qumei Bio possesses a chassis cell library containing multiple model strains. Meanwhile, the Qumei team has independently developed an enzyme library comprising over 2,000 variants, continuously generating enzyme elements protected by strong patent barriers. This has enabled the establishment of a proprietary enzyme element library, which, together with the enzyme combination library and chassis cell library, forms a high-yield engineered strain technology platform, creating a differentiated competitive advantage.

In addition, Qumei Bio has independently developed"Gaia" AI Algorithm Platform, facilitating process development and optimization. Leveraging data collected from manufacturing facilities and algorithmic models, this platform enables the prediction and optimization of experimental outcomes, significantly overcoming the reproducibility challenges associated with scaling up laboratory data to production.

Lin Tao believes that engineering can help companies cross the “valley of death” in the industrialization of synthetic biology—namely, the difficulty of mass production. The challenges stem from several factors: many laboratory experimental results cannot be replicated when scaling up to factory-level processes; factory testing involves high costs and long lead times, significantly increasing the difficulty of the pilot-scale phase; and during actual mass production, factories require a high degree of coordination among processes, equipment, and personnel, where even minor mismatches often lead to failed trial runs.

After establishing its proprietary enzyme library, QuMei Bio has developed a globally unique, leading technological roadmap and a systematic engineering technology platform, while accelerating the R&D process through its self-developed AI system.The QuMei team divides product R&D into three phases to tackle key challenges: first, construction of the critical path; second, process optimization; and third, scale-up testing.

Phase 1,The primary R&D focus is to identify which existing biosynthetic pathways in the current chassis cells need to be modified and optimized, and which entirely new, non-natural synthetic pathways need to be established for product synthesis. This work includes pathway design, design/testing of key enzymes and microbial strains, and optimization/validation of key pathways. When modifying and optimizing existing biosynthetic pathways, the Qumei teamBy employing efficient semi-rational and computer-aided enzyme design technologies, we can rapidly and successfully complete enzyme sequence development, address bottlenecks in enzyme development, and obtain enzymes with enhanced performance.

In short, the Qumei team can innovatively design reaction pathways that do not exist in nature, thereby enabling highly efficient and simplified synthetic routes with fewer steps. This approach delivers breakthrough results in terms of increased yield, accelerated reaction rates, and reduced costs.

“These technological innovations in synthetic pathways stem from the team’s years of accumulated expertise in enzyme engineering and their focused, in-depth dedication to product development.” In 2018, QuMei Biotech completed the technical breakthrough for its first product—first-generation gallic acid—in just nine months, increasing the industry’s product titer by 16-fold. To date, the company has achieved a breakthrough in second-generation gallic acid synthesis technology, further enhancing product titer.

In 2019, Qumei Biotech completed a plastic degradation technology development project for an international chemical giant. This solution featured innovations in pretreatment technology, novel enzymatic pathway reconstruction, and enzyme directed evolution. The entire pathway construction and small-scale validation were accomplished within just three months, achieving over 50% weight reduction of the resin. This ultimately resulted in internationally leading technological breakthroughs, successful transfer of the new technology, and the filing of international patents.

Phase 2,The primary R&D focus is to experimentally optimize the designed biosynthetic pathways to ensure that the optimized results are achievable at the laboratory scale. Key activities include strain optimization and fermentation process development, as well as the construction and optimization of catalytic and extraction processes. Among these, strain optimization along with fermentation and extraction processes are critical determinants of product feasibility and cost-effectiveness relative to production requirements.Qumei’s globally pioneering reaction-separation coupling technology and biomass utilization technology, integrated through highly efficient technological combinations, significantly reduce production costs and fermentation time. Applicable to a wide range of products, these technologies enable fermentation product concentrations and yields that far exceed industry standards.

Furthermore, leveraging over a decade of industrialization experience and six years of focused R&D, the QuMei team has established proprietary technologies for biomass utilization, downstream separation, and post-extraction processes. Compared with conventional methods, these innovative technologies feature fewer steps, simpler processes, and higher yields, while enabling the use of low-cost, readily available biomass feedstocks to reduce production costs. For instance, aromatic downstream products can be developed using glucose as a raw material through microbial fermentation.

By integrating technological innovations from Phases 1 and 2, QuMei Biotech has significantly accelerated the pace of product development and mass production.In 2021, Qumei Bio matured its development of the aromatic product line and launched several products. This included completing the pilot-scale production of protocatechuic acid, the second product in its aromatic series, within six months, gaining recognition as a raw material supplier. In the same year, Qumei Bio established a collaboration with an international giant on bio-propane.

Phase 3: Scale-up PhaseLeveraging an engineering team with a proven track record of successfully developing multiple products at the ten-thousand-ton scale, QuMei Bio utilizes industrialization experience to supplement laboratory data, thereby generating reference data for industrial scale-up. By integrating the “Gaia” AI algorithm platform, the R&D team employs computational modeling and validation to shorten testing cycles, improve success rates, and thus reduce testing costs. Furthermore, the “Gaia” platform can repeatedly simulate the interfaces among personnel, processes, and equipment, thereby optimizing critical coordination aspects during the industrial mass production phase.

Meanwhile, capacity building has also become a primary objective for QuMei Bio in Phase III. After completing its Series A financing round in 2023,Qumei Biotech’s new high-efficiency, low-cost production base has been established in Chuzhou, Anhui Province. The facility was completed in June 2024, with a production line capacity of 1,000 metric tons. Currently, the plant is in the trial production phase and has successfully achieved gallic acid production at the hundred-kilogram scale.Through recent process optimization, gallic acidProductCosts have decreased by more than 50%.. Meanwhile, the Shanghai R&D base also underwent expansion, extending from aromatic products to five product pipelines, including amino acid products (arginine and its derivatives).

Lin Tao noted that synthetic biology, as an emerging technology in the innovation of bioengineering, has only been developing rapidly for over two decades. Despite significant technological advancements, engineering-oriented technologies are still groping in the darkness before dawn.Currently, synthetic biology is breaking through the barrier of scaling up from the laboratory to industrial manufacturing. Innovation in factory hardware infrastructure and iterative optimization of process data will emerge as two key directions.QuMei Bio integrates its team’s extensive engineering expertise to establish a comprehensive industrial technology system, leveraging innovative artificial intelligence and data processing technologies to transform traditional industrial manufacturing into intelligent “smart” manufacturing.

Currently, Qumei Biotechnology has a team ofA Rare Engineering Team in the Field of Synthetic Biology, with a team size exceeding 60 members, nearly 60% of whom hold bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees.“Our values are inclusiveness, resilience, exploration, and excellence. Our members embody a spirit of pursuing excellence and refine our products with a craftsman’s mindset.”Dr. Lin Tao, Founder and CTO, studied under Academician Ouyang Pingkai, a leading authority in synthetic biology. With over 20 years of experience in synthetic biology and biomanufacturing, Dr. Lin has pioneered numerous technologies that filled industry gaps and facilitated the commercialization of multiple projects. He has previously held positions at several major biotechnology companies. Wang Shujun, Head of Production, brings more than 30 years of experience in the industrialization of synthetic biology and factory construction, having led his team to complete the Phase I plant construction in Chuzhou, Anhui Province.

In addition to its core business model of in-house R&D, manufacturing, and sales, Qumei Biotech is also exploring further possibilities across the synthetic biology industry chain.In 2018, Shanghai Renmei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was established. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qumei Biotech focused on R&D, Shanghai Renmei provides customers with services such as new technology development and technology transfer in synthetic biology. On a broader collaborative front, Qumei Biotech is engaged in co-production negotiations with more than 10 potential clients, exploring partnerships through equity-for-technology arrangements and the joint establishment of manufacturing facilities.

Next, Qumei Bio plans to use the funds raised to expand production capacity for gallic acid, vanillin, and arginine, reaching a scale of nearly 10,000 tons, and further advance the production of straw-derived sugars as well as the R&D of new chassis cells.Meanwhile, the R&D team will continue to explore the application of innovative technologies to provide customers with more environmentally friendly, safer, sustainable, and competitive bio-based products, thereby delivering an ultimate innovation experience.

Qumei Biotech has launched its Series A+ funding round, with proceeds earmarked for the construction of a second-phase production line with an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons. Institutional investors and potential partners interested in Qumei Biotech’s technologies and products are welcome to scan the QR code below to contact us.