Christian Delos Santos and his co-founders—all TMU graduates—started Biofect Innovations because they wanted to apply molecular science to help people.
Joining forces with John Abousawan (PhD, Molecular Science ’24); Louis Lo (PhD, Biology ’23) and Teshager Kefale (TMU post-doctoral fellow), Delos Santos (PhD, Molecular Science ’19) developed a microbial platform that allows them to create biomolecules without relying on traditional agricultural sources.
They’re using the platform to produce Brazzein, a protein from the rare West African Oubli berry. Brazzein is 2,000 times sweeter than sugar and offers a healthier, more sustainable alternative to chemical sweeteners.
Brazzein is their third pivot and their major breakthrough, says CEO Delos Santos. Their first two products—yeast-based cannabis products and plant-based blood—didn’t achieve the product-market fit or market impact they were aiming for.
“Reducing the amount of sugar in one’s diet can have many great health implications,” says Delos Santos. “Protein doesn’t trigger insulin spikes like sugar and it’s easily processed by the body. This was a product that we could all be passionate about.”
Leading European beverage brands and manufacturers are evaluating Brazzein, with future plans for scale and growth.
TMU's Zone support adds legitimacy
Throughout their journey, the founders have tapped the expertise and funding opportunities of the TMU Zone Learning ecosystem. “Having their stamp of approval on our startup means a lot in terms of credibility: it says, okay, this company has been through these programs, they know what they’re doing.”
Best advice for future founders: “Get to the truth as fast as you can. Validate your idea. If there’s no market, move on. When we hit on Brazzein, the first thing I wanted to do was figure out if customers liked it. That’s when we made it our mission to gather more feedback from top players in the industry, and their positive comments confirmed that we were onto something big.”
What keeps Christian Delos Santos motivated?
“Realizing the potential of our technology to recreate all kinds of natural ingredients in a more sustainable way, without compromising the products we love and enjoy. Imagine that.”
