Let’s talk sunscreen.
If you’ve ever put on sunscreen that left a white cast on your skin no matter how much you rubbed it in, chances are you were using a mineral sunscreen with zinc or titanium as the active ingredients. Maybe you then switched to chemical sunscreen that goes on clear due to active organic ingredients that absorb UV rays rather than reflect them. No muss, no fuss. Unfortunately, those ingredients are bad for coral reefs and marine life, so more people are moving away from using them.
Now you’re left wondering what your options are.
Fortunately, the Midwest Bioprocessing Center has been working on a solution. It’s called FeruliShield™.
“When you mix our product in with mineral sunscreen, it boosts the SPF and allows you to reduce the amount of zinc and titanium,” explains Midwest Bioprocessing Center CEO and President, David Demirjian. “It therefore makes a clearer sunscreen.”
Midwest Bioprocessing Center, located in Peoria, Illinois, is one of the iFAB Tech Hub’s newest strategic partners. They’re bringing new biobased products to market, with a focus on human health, nutrition, and personal care.
Midwest Bioprocessing launched in 2019 as a spin-off of zuChem, Inc., Demirjian’s earlier startup. “zuChem was focused on carbohydrate chemistry. We started up as a collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture in Peoria,” Dermirjian recalls. “We developed a process to make xylitol, which is a sweetener that’s used in confectionary products. And when that started taking off, we spun all the other technology out we had into Midwest Bioprocessing Center.”
Midwest Bioprocessing is a recent recipient of funding through the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program. The program, now in its third year and made possible through partnership with Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, awards funding to startups and small to mid-size businesses. The funding makes it possible for businesses to collaborate with Illinois’ higher education and research institutions, allowing access to state-of-the-art facilities and researchers at the top of their fields.
Midwest Bioprocessing Center is using their funding from the voucher program to scale-up their technology at the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab (IBRL).
“Right now we have a pilot production unit that can produce about a metric ton [of FeruliShield™] a year. Which is a decent amount, but it’s not that big,” Demirjian explains. For FeruliShield™ to begin going into larger-sized sunscreen products, production will need to ramp up to anywhere from two to four tons a year. “Our system isn’t quite amenable for scaling up. IBRL is an awesome partner to help with this, because they have both the skillset and the space.”
The ecosystem that exists within central Illinois to help biomanufacturing flourish is quickly becoming a well-oiled machine. Demirjian says this scaleup work wouldn’t be possible without both the voucher program and IBRL.
“Illinois has a huge advantage in bioprocessing and developing this new bioeconomy,” Demirjian continues. “I was so excited when IBRL put their system together because the whole industry has needed something like this for a long time. I always thought what we really need are scale up and pilot resources, and they just weren’t there.”
Demirjian says that iFAB is a fantastic extension of IBRL. The unique tech hub is bridging all of the region’s resources to promote both awareness and collaboration. “It’s such an important concept for the industry,” Demirjian explains. “It’s a really needed resource, not just for Illinois, but for the entire nation. Actually, the whole world. There’s nothing like the iFAB Tech Hub that exists.”
Demirjian concludes, “I’m a huge believer in what iFAB is doing. We want to be part of that.”
Learn more about Midwest Bioprocessing Center and its FeruliShield™ technology.
