Shiru, Ajinomoto Partner to Revolutionise Natural Sweeteners 

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• Shiru and Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition Partners have teamed up to develop and commercialize sweet proteins, high-intensity natural sweeteners up to 5,000 times sweeter than sugar and with no impact on blood glucose levels.
• Shiru’s Flourish platform is key in identifying stable, easily formulated sweet proteins, addressing challenges in discovering and producing these proteins cost-effectively at scale.
• The partnership leverages Ajinomoto’s expertise in fermentation and ingredient formulation to produce sweet proteins efficiently through precision fermentation, using hosts like yeast and E. coli.
• Shiru can patent novel applications of natural protein sequences, enabling licensing agreements with Ajinomoto and generating immediate revenue. This partnership marks the first of several collaborations aimed at revolutionizing the food and beverage industry with innovative protein solutions.

Protein discovery startup Shiru has joined forces with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition Partners, a division of the global ingredients leader Ajinomoto, to develop and commercialise sweet proteins. 

These high-intensity natural sweeteners, found in fruits and berries near the equator, can be up to 5,000 times sweeter than sugar and have no impact on blood glucose levels, offering a promising alternative to traditional sugar.

Shiru’s founder and CEO, Dr. Jasmin Hume, highlighted the exciting potential of sweet proteins to expand the natural sugar-reduction toolkit. 

However, challenges remain in identifying suitable sweet proteins and producing them cost-effectively at scale. Shiru’s Flourish platform, a groundbreaking discovery tool and marketplace for proteins, is instrumental in this collaboration. It helps identify sweet proteins that are both stable and easy to formulate.

Ajinomoto’s expertise in fermentation and ingredient formulation complements Shiru’s capabilities. The partnership aims to discover sweet proteins that can be produced efficiently through precision fermentation, using common hosts like yeast and E. coli. This collaboration leverages the strengths of both companies to bring innovative sweet proteins to the market.

While natural protein sequences cannot be patented, Shiru can secure patents for the novel applications of these sequences. 

This allows for licensing agreements with Ajinomoto, generating immediate revenue for Shiru. The startup, which underwent layoffs in late 2023 to conserve cash, sees this partnership as a critical step towards monetizing its technology.

Shiru’s recently launched ProteinDiscovery.ai tool allows users to search a database of over 33 million molecules by protein sequence, functional use, and expression efficiency in microbes. 

This platform helps solve problems like finding natural emulsifiers or plant proteins that mimic animal proteins. Shiru’s Expressor tool predicts protein expression in microbial systems, ensuring cost-effective production of functional proteins.

Dr. Hume revealed that this is just the first of several partnerships with global corporations aimed at revolutionising the food and beverage industry through innovative protein solutions.