Neion Bio emerges with egg-based biologics platform, biosimilar deal

While Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells remain the dominant mammalian system for producing recombinant protein drugs, the industry has continued to explore more efficient and stable production methods to improve yield and access of biologic medicines.

A new entrant in the biopharma space, Neion Bio, is aiming to do just that. Having emerged from stealth in March, the company unveiled a platform that uses advanced genetic engineering tools to produce recombinant biologics in chicken eggs.

“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 co-founder and CEO Dimi Kellari said in a statement announcing the company’s launch. “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.”

The company also announced it has signed a supply agreement with a major global pharmaceutical company to develop biosimilar medicines, a segment the company plans to target first.

Pushing past CHO's productivity limits

Neion Bio’s Raptor platform is designed to harness protein production in the white of unfertilized chicken eggs, enabling scalable and potentially more efficient manufacturing of therapeutic proteins, according to Ming Li, the company’s president of commercial operations.

The approach contrasts with traditional CHO-based systems, which have been optimized for more than 50 years but still may have practical productivity limits, Li says. CHO has been engineered for decades to push up the metabolic ceiling that ultimately constrains how much each cell line can produce, with incremental progress over time.

Conversely, egg-based production starts with a naturally high protein output — roughly six grams per egg — and its full production potential remains largely untapped, Li noted. As a result, the platform could drive down manufacturing costs as more of the native protein capacity of an egg is utilized.

“Not everything can be made in a traditional setting,” said Li. “There are some proteins that would be difficult to express in CHO or a murine cell line that may be easier for us to express.”

Egg-based production is not entirely new to pharmaceuticals. Eggs have long been used in vaccine manufacturing — using fertilized eggs— but, in a closer parallel to Neion Bio’s approach, AstraZeneca developed the enzyme replacement therapy Kanuma, whose protein is produced in the egg whites of transgenic chickens, meaning there already exists regulatory familiarity with egg-based systems in biopharma.

Li also points to the practical advantages of leveraging a well-established agricultural system.

“The chicken is the ideal resource because there’s an agricultural infrastructure that has been geared toward rearing them,” he said. “They’ve been used for pharmaceutical purposes for some time, and they’re very efficient converters of grain into protein.”

Why eggs could lower the cost curve

Because each egg functions as a self-contained, naturally sterile environment, the platform may simplify downstream processing and reduce overall cost of goods.

By contrast, CHO manufacturing often forces companies into a tradeoff between high upfront capital investment and high per-unit production costs, making it difficult to efficiently produce high-volume biologics at low cost. Traditional systems rely on costly bioreactors and complex infrastructure, whereas egg-based production removes the need for large-scale facilities.

“Instead of having to build out infrastructure that costs hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars, you don’t have to make that upfront investment,” Li said.

Beyond capital savings, the platform also reduces operating costs by replacing expensive inputs with simpler, lower-cost materials like grain and water.

A timely entry into biosimilars

Neion Bio’s initial focus on biosimilars comes as the regulatory landscape is shifting in ways that could significantly lower development costs.

In March, the FDA announced new draft guidance aimed at streamlining biosimilar development, including recommendations to reduce certain clinical pharmacokinetic (PK) testing requirements when scientifically justified. According to the agency, such changes could cut PK study costs by up to 50%, or roughly $20 million per program.

Neion Bio sees biosimilars as a logical starting point for its platform. Clinical trials have been one of the most expensive components of biosimilar development, according to Li.

“The changing requirements to get biosimilars approved, specifically the dropping of clinical trials, provides a real opportunity to expand portfolios, and we want to be part of helping enable that,” Li said.

While the platform has broader applications, the evolving regulatory environment creates an immediate opportunity to expand biosimilar pipelines more efficiently.

Validating the model through partnership

For Neion Bio, its initial partnership with a major global pharma company signals growing industry interest in alternative manufacturing approaches.

The commercial agreement provides Neion Bio with near-term revenue through upfront and milestone payments, along with long-term participation through profit sharing once products are commercialized.

“The partnership really demonstrates the need and the desire for alternatives. Especially alternatives that have advantages,” Li said.

Neion Bio launched in 2024 with approximately $11 million in financing from a consortium of venture capital firms led by Caffeinated Capital with significant participation from Basis Set Ventures and Haystack VC, among others.