Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Award Overview: The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $305,000 under its Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to Roke Biotechnologies LLC for a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project commencing July 1, 2026 and concluding June 30, 2027. The project focuses on developing a low-cost manufacturing platform for agricultural peptides using semi-continuous fermentation technology, performed at the awardee's Durham, North Carolina facility.

Products and Services Delivered: The project will deliver computational modeling and laboratory-scale prototype validation of a semi-continuous bacterial fermentation system integrated with simplified purification methods designed to eliminate expensive chromatography steps. Key deliverables include establishing operating parameters through modeling and validating a prototype system capable of achieving target expression levels, purification yields exceeding 90 percent, and continuous operation for 72 hours or longer without performance degradation. The technology aims to address three technical challenges: maintaining stable protein production without genetic drift during extended operations, integrating multiple processing steps into a coordinated continuous system, and preventing peptide product degradation during purification. Subawards are planned as part of this funding allocation. The broader impact targets reducing biomanufacturing production costs to enable wider access to sustainable agricultural peptide products while strengthening domestic biomanufacturing capacity and reducing reliance on chemical inputs.