Animal health startup BiomEdit advanced a first-of-its-kind engineered bacteria product to final development phase, secures Series B funding and added key industry leadership. Photo from BiomEdit.

News Release

GREENFIELD — BiomEdit, a pioneering animal health biotechnology company, announced a significant milestone in the development of BE-101, its lead candidate for the prevention of mortality associated with necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens.

The product has entered the final phase of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s conditional licensure process and is advancing toward commercialization, expected in 2026.

BE-101, which will assume the brand name “Optavant” upon full licensure, is the first-of-its-kind probiotic vectored antibody pvAb product designed to neutralize Clostridium perfringens toxins — the major cause of NE associated productivity losses, disease and mortality, offering poultry producers a powerful, non-antibiotic solution to a disease that causes an estimated $6 billion in annual losses worldwide.

“These approvals and study results represent a major inflection point for BE-101 and the entire BiomEdit platform,” said Aaron Schacht, CEO of BiomEdit. “We’re pleased to work closely with USDA to bring this novel solution to producers and to secure the right partner in Diamond Animal Health for commercial readiness.”

BiomEdit also announced the successful close of its Series B financing, led by Anterra Capital, with follow-on investment from Nutreco and new participation from AgriZeroNZ, Indiana’s Elevate Ventures, and Betagro Ventures among others. The oversubscribed round, totaling around $18.4 million, provides sufficient capital to fund BiomEdit through conditional licensure and into the commercial launch of BE-101.

In support of this next phase, BiomEdit has added two seasoned animal health industry executives, Kristin Bloink as vice president of development, and Andrew Carlson as Chief Commercial Officer.

In parallel, BiomEdit continues to build momentum across its broader pipeline. The company has secured over $1.7 million in new non-dilutive grants to support ongoing and new research programs.

“This is an exciting chapter for BiomEdit,” said Schacht. “We are bringing a transformational poultry solution to U.S. broiler producers and pushing the frontiers of sustainable livestock production.”