BiomEdit Acquires Folium Science, Forging a Dual-Threat CRISPR Platform

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – August 25, 2026

BiomEdit, a fast-rising animal health biotechnology company, announced today it has acquired the technology and pipeline assets of UK-based Folium Science. The move integrates Folium’s CRISPR-based platform with BiomEdit’s own advanced capabilities, creating a formidable dual-approach to engineering animal microbiomes and signaling a major acceleration in the race to develop alternatives to traditional antibiotics in livestock.

The acquisition brings Folium’s market-approved poultry feed additive, BiomElix® One, into the BiomEdit portfolio, providing an immediate commercial foothold in Brazil, one of the world's largest poultry markets. More significantly, it combines two distinct and complementary scientific approaches for modulating animal gut health, positioning the four-year-old company as a leader in the precision biologics space.

A New Era of Precision Microbiome Technology

At the heart of the acquisition is the powerful synergy between two pioneering technologies. BiomEdit has been developing what it calls Programmable Veterinary Biologics™, a class of genetically engineered microbes designed to act like tiny biological factories, performing specific, beneficial functions within an animal’s body. This involves introducing helpful bacteria engineered to address issues ranging from infectious diseases to chronic conditions.

Folium Science, founded in 2015, developed a contrasting but complementary approach called Guided Biotics®. This platform uses the precision of CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology to act as a microbial sniper, selectively targeting and eliminating specific harmful bacteria within the gut microbiome while leaving the vast community of beneficial microbes unharmed. This technique offers a highly targeted way to manage pathogens without the collateral damage associated with broad-spectrum antibiotics.

"Folium assembled an exceptional scientific team and built a differentiated platform that complements BiomEdit's existing technology," said Aaron Schacht, CEO of BiomEdit. "One approach engineers beneficial bacteria to perform targeted biological functions; the other selectively targets specific bacterial populations within the microbiome. Together, these scientific approaches give us a broader set of tools to address important animal health and production challenges."

This dual-threat capability—the ability to both add beneficial functions and precisely remove detrimental ones—is a significant leap forward. It directly addresses the global pressure on the agriculture industry to reduce its reliance on antibiotics amid growing concerns over antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The global veterinary biologics market, valued at over $13.6 billion in 2025, is projected to exceed $20 billion by 2030, largely driven by this demand for innovative, sustainable alternatives.

Strategic Acceleration and Market Dominance

For BiomEdit, which spun out of Elanco Animal Health in 2022 with Schacht, a former Elanco executive, at the helm, the acquisition is a calculated strategic accelerator. The company has moved aggressively, securing an oversubscribed $18.4 million Series B funding round in 2025 and leveraging a key partnership with synthetic biology giant Ginkgo Bioworks to fuel its research and development.

The transaction with Folium Science, the terms of which were not disclosed, vaults the company further ahead. By acquiring BiomElix® One, which has already received regulatory approval from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), BiomEdit bypasses years of development and regulatory hurdles, gaining an instant revenue-ready product in a critical international market.

The move solidifies BiomEdit's dominance in the poultry health sector, where it now boasts two advanced product programs. The company’s lead candidate, BE-101, is in the final stages of seeking conditional licensure from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), while BiomElix® One is ready for commercial rollout in Brazil. This two-pronged assault on poultry diseases with distinct technologies gives the company a significant competitive edge.

"I'm proud of what our team built and confident that, in BiomEdit, our science has found the right home: one with the vision, expertise and development capability to realize its full potential for animal health," said Ed Fuchs, co-founder of Folium Science.

A Strengthened Pipeline for a Healthier Food System

The acquisition significantly bolsters BiomEdit's product pipeline, with two flagship products aimed at solving some of the poultry industry’s most costly problems.

BiomEdit’s lead candidate, BE-101 (marketed as Optavant™), is a first-of-its-kind engineered probiotic designed to prevent necrotic enteritis, a devastating bacterial disease in broiler chickens that costs the global industry an estimated $6 billion annually. The product, a probiotic vectored antibody (pvAb™), is engineered to neutralize the toxins produced by Clostridium perfringens, the bacterium that causes the disease. Administered as a simple spray at the hatchery, it offers a non-antibiotic solution to a massive economic and animal welfare issue. The company anticipates receiving conditional licensure from the USDA in the third quarter of 2026, with commercial launch planned shortly after.

Meanwhile, BiomElix® One, powered by Folium's Guided Biotics® platform, is designed to manage Salmonella in poultry. Its approval in Brazil is a landmark achievement, especially as the country's National BioSafety Committee (CTNBio) certified it as non-GMO, recognizing its ability to work with natural microbial pathways. With this approval in hand, BiomEdit can now leverage its resources for large-scale field trials and commercial partnerships across Brazil.

By combining these powerful tools, BiomEdit is not just creating novel products; it is building a platform to redefine sustainable animal agriculture. These precision technologies promise to improve animal welfare, enhance feed efficiency, and reduce the environmental footprint of livestock production.

"By combining these complementary technologies in one platform, we can both engineer beneficial microbes to perform specific biological functions and selectively reshape microbial communities," Schacht concluded. "This broader toolkit expands our ability to design precise, differentiated solutions that improve animal health and productivity."