Thai Union Group PCL today announced that its Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) Fund has joined other strategic and financial partners investing in UK-based Jellagen’s £8.7 million Series A fundraising round.
Founded in 2015, Jellagen is a medical biotechnology company developing collagen biomaterials derived from jellyfish. Their mission is to revolutionise regenerative medicine through a range of medical devices and culture applications. Early clinical findings from Jellagen’s studies prove Collagen Type 0, derived from jellyfish, to be superior to mammalian counterparts, especially in medical and healing areas. The funding in this round will be used to accelerate medical development of Collagen Type 0, as a sustainable collagen biomaterial to be used as a treatment for skin diseases and as a biomaterial for tissue reconstruction.
Thai Union’s investment in Jellagen opens doors for further collaboration to be jointly explored across areas of sourcing, processing, as well as applications within existing and new Thai Union products.
Thiraphong Chansiri, President and CEO of Thai Union said, “As a seafood industry leader, we strive to leverage innovation in our business and products. Jellagen is at the forefront of jellyfish collagen research and is developing a marine collagen platform which will have applications across medical, cosmetics and the food and nutrition space. We’re looking forward to exploring collaboration opportunities together in our global research and development and processing facilities around the world.â€
Thomas-Paul Descamps, Jellagen’s CEO, said, “It is a great achievement and major step forward to have secured this transforming investment from Thai Union Group. I want to thank Thai Union for their trust in the Jellagen team and the incredible potential of the Jellagen technology platform. The investment will support the growth of Jellagen as a future global medical device and biomaterial leader. In addition, the investment will secure Jellagen’s sourcing and enable the future manufacturing scaleup. Combining the immense possibilities of our Collagen Type 0 with this large industry player will help unleash the considerable potential of the Jellagen technology platform.â€
Jellagen Ltd is a medical biotechnology company manufacturing next-generation Collagen Type 0 for medical and scientific research applications. The strategic mission is to commercialise marine-sourced collagen based upon its many advantages over mammalian sources, while also exploring new therapeutic opportunities which arise from the unique qualities of Collagen Type 0 as a biomaterial.
Founded in Cardiff, Wales in 2015, Jellagen is already marketing a range of next-generation Collagen Type 0 products for research use, while also developing clinical-grade formulations for therapeutic and medical device applications. Based on the pioneering research of Professor Andrew Mearns Spragg, collagen in Jellagen’s products is extracted from Rhizostoma pulmo, an ancient species of large jellyfish common to the Irish Sea. Peer-reviewed published research as well as the company’s own application-specific advisory papers demonstrate the significant advantages of Collagen Type 0 over mammalian collagen for both research and medicine.
Thai Union’s CVC fund was established in 2019. It has identified alternative proteins, functional nutrition and biotechnology, in addition to new technologies along the food value chain, as strategic areas for investment. The fund invests in, and partners with, early-stage, entrepreneurial companies working in these areas, seeking to support and accelerate their development to grow the industry in line with Thai Union’s commitment to Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans.
