Mera Pharmaceuticals, Inc Research and Development

Our Technology Overview

Production of Valuable Substances from Microalgae

The value of microalgae lies in their unique chemical compounds. Just as in other plants or other microbes, the complex mixture of compounds in an alga may have value, making the entire organism useful as a product. This is common for nutraceuticals (e.g. Gingko biloba). In many cases, however, the valuable substance is a single compound that must be identified, then separated or extracted from the remainder of the biomass to be delivered most effectively (e.g. penicillin).

The Science and Technology of Microalgae Cultivation

Just like all plants, each species of microalgae grows best under certain conditions. There is an ideal combination of temperature, nutrient mix, pH and other factors for each species.

Most microbes grow well in water. Microbes such as bacteria and fungi, which are grown commercially, are produced in water-filled, controlled bioreactors, otherwise known as fermenters. The ability to grow bacteria and fungi in fermenters at large scale has existed for centuries. In order to produce a product that is free of contamination and with consistent quality, the fermenter is closed, allowing a high degree of control over the growing environment. However, none of the organisms successfully cultivated via fermentation has been photosynthetic, i.e., dependent on light to grow.

Mera Growth Module

The Mera Growth Module (MGM) – Our Platform Technology

Mera Growth Modules: Photobioreactors are a brand new platform technology. Fermentation technology is used to commercialize tens of thousands of microbe species that do not require light to grow. Photobioreactor technology will permit Mera Pharmaceuticals to exploit tens of thousands of photosynthetic species. The combination of control and large scale is the key to success, and Mera has found a way to achieve it. The scale of our photobioreactor – the “Mera Growth Module” (MGM) – is comparable to that of industrial fermenters.

Production of Valuable Substances from Microalgae

Dried Astaxanthin: The value of microalgae lies in their unique chemical compounds. Just as in other plants or other microbes, the complex mixture of compounds in an alga may have value, making the entire organism useful as a product. This is common for nutraceuticals (e.g. Gingko biloba). In many cases, however, the valuable substance is a single compound that must be identified, then separated or extracted from the remainder of the biomass to be delivered most effectively (e.g. penicillin)

Traditional microalgae production methods

The colors of astaxanthin: Microalgae have long been grown under controlled conditions in the laboratory, where temperature, pH and other important variables can be well controlled, usually with large amounts of researcher and technician time spent doing it. However, these systems are too small – just a few gallons ñ and the amount of time and effort needed to keep them optimized is too costly, for them to be suitable for commercial use.