MyriaMeat Unveils 100% Muscle Cultivated Pork Fillet – vegconomist
German biotech startup MyriaMeat announces that it has successfully developed a cultivated pork fillet made entirely from pig cells, without the use of scaffolds for cell support or added plant protein blends for shape.
The cultivated pork fillet was showcased at an event in Berlin hosted by the startup’s supporting investor, SPRIN-D, the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation.
“In our company, it’s now about implementation, no longer basic research, and we have demonstrated this with our prototype developed in Göttingen within just one year, CEO Florian Hüttner shares.
Growing whole cuts
MyriaMeat uses patented medical technology based on pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and parthenogenetic stem cells. This technology enables natural muscle growth, allowing the startup to grow meat pieces or whole cuts — one of cultivated meat’s challenges.
While MyriaMeat has labelled this as a world first, other companies are also producing cultivated pork; when questioned as to the USP, the company said, “Our muscle can contract, this is what makes it so special. We are of the opinion that only pure muscle meat made from iSPC, which has the ability to contract and is free of other additions, is able to reproduce an animal muscle as well as possible,” Dr. Timm Eifler, CMO at MyriaMeat told Cultivated X.
He added, “We do no genetic bypassing of natural muscle development (as in immortalization) and we have no genetic modifications.”
Other companies create whole cuts by combining cells and plant protein blends, or by using scaffolds, or fillers in their approach. However, the UK company 3DBT also claims to have developed a cultivated pork fillet without plant-based scaffolds, blends or fillers and announced its development last year as the world’s first “100% meat” cultivated steak.
When asked about 3DBT’s cultivated pork steak Eifler responded, “All the different approaches will make their contribution in making meat consumption better for the environment and the animals.”
Redefining meat consumption
Researchers from the University of Göttingen founded MyriaMeat in 2022 to leverage the worldwide license for the medical technology mentioned above, built on decades of medical research and over €40 million. The startup has headquarters in Munich and operates a lab at Life Science Factory in Göttingen, where the cultivated pork was developed, according to the announcement.
The successful prototype represents a major technological achievement that validates the technology and the startup’s cultivated meat platform. Now that the biotech is marking its transition from basic research to application, MyriaMeat is getting ready to scale the platform and host its first tasting event later this year.
MyriaMeat also announced that it is growing its network of industrial partners and potential investors to support its next growth phase and become a “relevant partner for the development of innovative foods with alternative proteins.”
Hüttner adds: “Our vision is to redefine meat consumption in line with the needs of a growing world population and environmental protection, significantly reducing the CO2 emissions of meat production.”
