About

Aquatic Biologicals is a Marine Biotechnology company, spin-off of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. It develops innovative health management and eco-friendly solutions for the aquaculture sector in the Mediterranean area.

Solution & Product

Aquatic Biologicals develops and manufactures autogenous vaccines and phage therapy products for farmed fish, aiming at effective disease management without the use of antibiotics. Autogenous vaccines are vaccines that do not require a marketing authorisation as they are manufactured on the basis of the pathogen that caused the disease in a fish farm and are used exclusively in that farm. Phage therapy is based on the use of viruses that infect bacteria as an alternative treatment to antibiotics. These viruses, called bacteriophages, are the natural enemies of bacteria and can target only the pathogenic bacteria without affecting the beneficial bacteria in the fish gut or the environment. These products are tailor-made for each facility and are offered together with advisory and advanced diagnostic services.

Innovation & Scalability

The potential for scaling is great as the Mediterranean aquaculture industry, which is Aquatic Biologicals' core market, is growing rapidly and diversifying with the introduction of new fish species. There is a large gap in specialised fish disease prevention products as the large pharmaceutical companies have salmon farming as their core market rather than sea bream, sea bass and other Mediterranean species. The potential for scaling up is further enhanced by the specialisation of Aquatic Biologicals' strains in Mediterranean species

Traction & achievements

Aquatic Biologicals has been involved in the development of vaccination programs for several aquaculture companies in Greece and abroad. It curates a large collection of fully characterized pathogens from the Mediterranean area that will constitute the basis for the development of efficacious vaccines. The production of aquaculture vaccines require specialized facilities that are compliant with the highest quality standards applied in the Pharmaceutical industry. The construction of AB facilities according to GMP standards are scheduled for the beginning of 2023. Aquatic Biologicals is participating as a partner in national and European research projects for the development of innovative solutions for the aquaculture sector.

Team & Why Us

The founders of Aquatic Biologicals have active research positions and roles at the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. in 2021, Irida SA which is the biggest fish feed producer in Greece has become the strategic investor of Aquatic Biologicals offering apart from the required funds, expertise and know-how in aquaculture but also infiltration to the broader Mediterranean aquaculture sector.

Funding Needs

The construction of the GMP-compliant production facility for the autogenous vaccines requires significant investments. We have no needs for funding for the time being.