Kepley BioSystems (KBI) has been selected as a competition finalist in the 2017 Fish 2.0 Innovation Forum & Finals to be held November 7-8, 2017, at Stanford University. At this prestigious seafood and fishing industry investment and environmental forum, Fish 2.0 will be bringing sustainability and technology-driven innovators together with over 300 industry experts and investors throughout the course of the two day event.
KBI will be featuring a sustainable synthetic bait as an alternative to the annual use of over 40 billion wild fish caught for the sole purpose of catching other fish. With development funded by the National Science Foundation, and once fully funded for commercialization, OrganoBait™ promises to disrupt a $40 billion global bait market by providing provide a cost-effective, clean, stable and easily manufactured solution to the rising costs and bait shortages impacting industrial and recreational fishing, worldwide.
“Kepley BioSystems is excited to present OrganoBait to Fish 2.0 judges and investors,” says KBI president and presenter Dr. Anthony Dellinger. “We applied nanotechnology to precisely match the naturally occurring molecules that attract other fish to baitfish, so our product embodies the spirit of the Fish 2.0 competition as a sustainable, environmentally friendly approach to mounting bait pressures across the industry—not to mention the urgent need to avert the global collapse of baitfish.”
The 2017 Fish 2.0 Innovation Forum is the third culminating event in the competition’s history, with this year’s theme highlighting “Growth in a Changing Marketplace.” Fish 2.0 2017 competition finalists will be competing for a cash award and the ICX Industry Connection prize offered by sponsors of the Fish 2.0 network, including Albion Farm & Fisheries, Aqua, Rabobank, Tze Venture Seach Fund, and the Calvert Foundation, among others.
“This is the strongest group ever,” said Monica Jain, Fish 2.0 founder and executive director. “The level of innovation is potentially both system-changing and very profitable. We’re seeing the rise of ‘seatech’—new monitoring, visibility, production and processing tools for the seafood industry—as well as other advances that remove barriers to growth and sustainability for fishers, farmers and buyers throughout the value chain.”
About Fish 2.0
The goal of Fish 2.0 is to create the business growth needed to drive social and environmental change in the seafood supply chain. Fish 2.0 aims to build the knowledge and connections needed to increase investment in the sustainable seafood sector, while allowing competitors to improve their business model and connect with investors. In turn, participating investors gain early access to new deals and discover how supporting sustainable seafood enhances their professional profiles.
About Kepley BioSystems
Kepley BioSystems is a North Carolina biotech founded in 2013 and focused on disruptive innovations and global solutions, including: sustainable, synthetic crustacean and pelagic fish bait; redefining aquaculture feeds; developing enriched feed for migrating shorebirds; ranching horseshoe crabs to sustainably harvest LAL, vital to ensuring the safety of pharmaceuticals and medical devices; bringing laboratory quality to bedside testing; and introducing an autologous therapy for breast cancer as an alternative to chemotherapy. KBI originated at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), North Carolina A&T State University and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Now located at the Gateway University Research Park proximal to JSNN, KBI is led by Professor Christopher Kepley and Dr. Anthony Dellinger, working in collaboration with lead inventor Terry E. Brady, located on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, British West Indies.