July 27, 2022

Berkeley Lights Inc. and Aanika Biosciences identify antimicrobial peptide to increase food safety

Berkeley Lights Inc., a digital cell biology company, and Aanika Biosciences, a biotech startup using edible microbial tags to improve food safety, have identified a commercially viable antimicrobial peptide (AMP) to faster identify outbreak sources, reduce incidents of fresh produce contamination and minimize the impact of food borne illness related recalls.

The strategic partnership between the two companies was first announced in January 2022 and completed ahead of schedule. Aanika commissioned Berkeley Lights’ high-throughput, functional screening services to rapidly identify and optimize functional AMPs capable of killing harmful bacteria to reduce contamination. In addition, the Beacon Optofluidic Platform was leveraged to generate high resolution datasets that allowed for rapid down selection of peptides of interest.

“The partnership with Berkeley Lights far exceeded our expectations, from a scientific discovery and speed standpoint, as well as the highly collaborative nature in which our two teams operated together,” said Aanika co-founder and chief executive officer Vishaal Bhuyan. “The identification of the new AMP now enables us to move faster than we thought was possible to unlock the opportunities to have greater economic, environmental and human health impact as we to help improve and protect our global food system.”





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