Neion Bio, a biotechnology company focused on advancing biologic medicines through novel manufacturing approaches, has emerged from stealth with approximately $11 million in funding and announced a commercial partnership to co-develop and supply biosimilars.
Founded in 2024, the company is building a platform that leverages genetic engineering to produce biologics using eggs, aiming to significantly reduce costs and improve scalability compared to traditional biomanufacturing methods. The company’s Raptor™ platform is designed to enable localized, resilient production of therapeutic proteins while simplifying operations and reducing reliance on capital-intensive infrastructure.
The funding round was led by Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Basis Set Ventures and Haystack VC. In conjunction with its emergence, Neion Bio also signed its first co-development and supply agreement with a major global pharmaceutical company. The deal covers up to three monoclonal antibodies and includes upfront payments, milestone-based compensation, and long-term profit sharing once products reach commercialization.
Neion Bio was founded by Demetrios Kellari and Dr. Sam Levin, with Dr. Sven Bocklandt serving as Chief Scientific Officer. The company has also appointed Ming Li as President of Commercial Operations to help scale partnerships and commercial strategy.
The company’s platform utilizes advances in genome engineering and avian cell technologies to enable consistent protein expression and more efficient manufacturing processes. By harnessing eggs as biological production systems, Neion aims to deliver a more scalable and cost-effective alternative to traditional cell culture-based methods.
KEY QUOTES:
“Biopharma manufacturing has not changed in decades, and has become a major bottleneck in advancing medical breakthroughs, increasing accessibility of existing therapies, and localizing domestic production of critical medicines. Neion Bio’s platform removes the capital intensity and process constraints of traditional biomanufacturing enabling highly scalable and resilient production while materially lowering the cost of development and supply.”
Demetrios (Dimi) Kellari, Co-Founder And CEO Of Neion Bio
“Millions of years of evolution have sculpted this system into an extremely prolific producer of complex proteins. By leveraging this natural architecture, we’ve created a fundamentally superior way to produce biological therapeutics. Our platform delivers improved control and scalability versus conventional biomanufacturing without the burden and cost of large steel tanks or disposable plastics. As AI dramatically reduces the time and cost to design breakthrough medicines, we are enabling a pathway to bring these to market far more efficiently and sustainably than traditional manufacturing.”
Dr. Sam Levin, Co-Founder And CTO Of Neion Bio
“I am thrilled to be joining Neion Bio and equally excited that our first commercial agreement comes in the biosimilar space, which is a market and regulatory framework undergoing rapid positive changes. As clinical requirements ease for biosimilars, we expect a major increase in investment across the biosimilar sector, and our platform offers the kind of structural advantage companies will need to succeed.”
Ming Li, President Of Commercial Operations At Neion Bio
