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Debut Looks to Move Drug Manufacturing Forward

Debut Bio — which wants to simplify drug manufacturing — earlier this month closed a $2.6 million seed round. An Uber ride jump-started the fundraising.

With limited cash in Debut’s early days, CEO Joshua Britton turned to a side hustle as an Uber driver. He touted the company to every passenger, figuring he might as well sharpen his pitch.

Pitch Practice

“I wanted to tell my story in colloquial, non-scientific terms,” said Britton, who also founded the company, a spinout of UC Irvine that’s based in San Diego.

The story proved compelling when he found himself ferrying a health care investor, who later wrote a $100,000 check, one of the company’s first major investments.

Britton and UC Irvine professor Greg Weiss invented Debut’s technology, which aims to cut down on the time and costs involved in producing molecules that are the building blocks of novel drugs.

“In the last 75 years, we’ve been making chemicals and complex molecules the (same) exact way,” said Britton, who experienced the arduous task firsthand as a chemist.

Instead, Debut creates turbocharged enzymes, using cartridges that mimic nature, according to the company. Each cartridge is customized for factors like temperature, concentration, solvent and reaction time.

By doing so, the platform looks to eliminate environmentally hazardous chemicals and move companies toward continuous manufacturing that reduces steps.

New Production Methods

“We invested in Debut because the way we produce therapeutics and high value chemicals will dramatically change in the next 10 years as the pharma industry transitions from complex, multistep ‘batch manufacturing,’ to a far more cost-effective and efficient continuous manufacturing system,” said Cain McClary, founder and managing partner of KdT Ventures, which led the round.

“Debut Bio will be at the forefront of this shift, which we believe represents one of the most promising opportunities in pharma.”

Also participating in the financing were Better Ventures, FTW Ventures and SpringTide Ventures.

Debut falls into a field called cell-free biomanufacturing, which has attracted academic attention, but Britton said Debut appears to be the only company in the space backed by venture capital.

Hiring Plans

The company has eight employees, with plans to add a few more over the coming weeks. It’s building a pilot system, which is being closely watched by several interested pharmaceuticals.

“The molecules we’re going after are very high value and difficult to create naturally,” said Brady Beauchamp, the company’s chief operating officer and co-founder. “We’re just looking for the best and highest use of the technology where it can benefit the most people.” 

The company operates out of BioLabs, a San Diego incubator that coaches startups and aids in leadership recruitment. Shared lab space — and a density of biotech companies — led Debut to set up in San Diego over Irvine.

Beyond pharmaceuticals, Britton said the company’s technology could speed up the manufacturing of cannabinoids and alcoholic drinks.

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