Danforth Technology Company launches new startup

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Danforth Technology Company (DTC) today announced the launch of Metablify, a startup that has developed a breakthrough technology platform that enables the detection and quantification of previously undetectable metabolites and chemicals in large numbers of biological samples processed using LC/MS data processing algorithms.

“Metablify’s platform has a wide variety of potential uses, it could lead to the discovery of new biomarkers for personalized medicine and new plant-based compounds for human nutrition, medicine and other uses,” said Metablify Co-founder Ivan Baxter, PhD. “We have a functional pipeline on our servers and are ready to start showing collaborators what we can do.”

The startup was co-founded by Danforth Center scientists Ivan Baxter, PhD, Allen Hubbard, PhD and Louis Connelly, and Mike Bielski, founder and president of DevTech Partners. Bielski is a serial entrepreneur specializing in biotech, life science and agtech spaces and is serving as CEO of Metablify.

“Metablify has an opportunity to disrupt the LC/MS landscape,” said Bielski. “Metabolomics is exploding and current tools are missing critical metabolite data that could potentially lead to world-changing discoveries in medicine and agriculture.”

Initial investors in Metablify include the DTC and QRM Capital. The startup received four grants from the Danforth Center’s proof-of-concept fund to advance its IP-protected inventions. The startup received early seed money after winning the Danforth Center’s Big Ideas 3.0 competition in 2023. The competition combines TED Talks and Shark Tank and featured three teams of early-career Danforth Center researchers—each pitching their own groundbreaking idea for how to use plant science to better our world.

“The Danforth Center and its Startup Initiative has provided us with unparalleled support in the form of resources and access to experienced entrepreneurs who have provided invaluable feedback and mentoring to help us translate breakthrough technology from the lab to the market, where it can have the greatest impact,” said Hubbard.

About Metablify
Metablify uses first principles and physics-based algorithms to add the signals of faint, noisy metabolites across samples until they rise clearly over the background noise. With this paradigm shift, thousands of metabolites across thousands of samples can now be rapidly and accurately measured in an untargeted fashion, allowing huge, population-scale screening for potentially world changing metabolites in any organism.

About the Danforth Technology Company
The Danforth Technology Company (DTC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center that facilitates early-stage development of startup companies based on Danforth Center technologies. DTC connects research and discovery to commercial impact by catalyzing partnerships between scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors, and by providing initial management and financial support to its startups. The first DTC-backed startup Peptyde Bio was acquired by Invaio Sciences in 2023.

About the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a nonprofit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research, education and outreach aim to have an impact at the nexus of food security and the environment, and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants from many sources, including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and through the support of individuals and corporations. 

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SOURCE Donald Danforth Plant Science Center