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"Beyond the creation of additional robust production strains of our spider silk transgenics, our research team has been quietly working over the last months on multiple projects that we hope to begin sharing more details on soon".
Sorry to wake you. HA
Take care,
Patrik
What? No interest in this letter?
Patrik
Yes, and Looks like new genetics will have a great impact on robustness and acclimation of the worms.
Letter to Shareholders from Kraig Labs' CEO Kim Thompson
Last month Kraig Labs submitted its response to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) Request For Information (RFI) solicitation. This RFI sought out U.S. industrial supply base members that could help strengthen the country's bio-engineering and bio-manufacturing sectors. This request was intended to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of bio-manufacturing capabilities and to ensure a domestic supply base for future defense-related production capacity.
In addition to the renewed interest from the U.S. Department of Defense for the domestic production of bio-engineered materials and manufacturing technologies, Kraig Labs has also been approached by the Ministry of Defense from one of our ally nations. They requested samples of our recombinant spider silk materials for evaluation in protective textile applications.
The last few weeks have been a busy and exciting time for Kraig Labs and our research and development team. We welcomed several new staff members to our research and development team who are filling many diverse roles, from silkworm colony management to research and creation of the next generation of transgenics. We are still in the hiring process and anticipate adding one or two more qualified R&D team members over the next sixty days.
Our team is bustling as we continue to strengthen our operations through the introduction of more robust commercial silkworm background genetics. The work that we started in late 2022 with the first cross-hybrids, blending our spider silk technology with commercial silkworm strains, has now expanded to nearly a dozen strains of robust production silkworm lines. These strains were sourced from around the world and selected for their strong genetic background and cocoon performance. With these additional strains in-house, we are now starting to cross-breed our spider silk transgenes into these various commercial lines.
Over the next several months, we expect to create enough unique strains of spider silk transgenics to implement a multi-line "double hybrid" production system. We have already begun this process of breeding spider silk-producing variants of the first of these commercial strains that, when crossed with each other, should produce the largest and most robust production silkworms in the Company's history.
The program to increase robustness in our spider silk transgenics remains on track and is proceeding as scheduled. We expect to be able to announce the creation of several new lines of production spider silk strains as early as the third quarter.
Beyond the creation of additional robust production strains of our spider silk transgenics, our research team has been quietly working over the last months on multiple projects that we hope to begin sharing more details on soon.
As the research team works to advance the genetics and robustness of our silkworms for the production environment, the Company has also been working in collaboration with its textile consultant and yarn spinners to develop the first materials and applications for spider silk in textiles. The first of these yarns, designed in late 2022, has now been spun. After consultation with several mills, the Company successfully created the first composite silk, pima cotton yarns, with one of the world's premier cotton spinners. This initial trial proved to be a great success, giving us great insight into aspects of blending silk and cotton that we have used to further refine our silk processing steps.
Based on the technical analysis of the first silk and cotton composite yarn, the Company partnered with leading U.S. textile engineers to improve several aspects of the silk cutting, washing, and opening processes. The results are a set of processing steps and protocols that have proven to improve the silk staple fiber separation and alignment, which will increase the overall quality and uniformity of the composite yarns. To ensure the quality of these processes as we scale up production, we have invested in the production equipment necessary for the in-house manufacturing of silk staple fibers. These are essential processing steps done after the cocoons have been reeled into raw silk and before the silk can be blended and spun with other fibers.
We have taken the detailed technical analysis from the spinning of the first yarn and revamped our staple fiber processing with the guidance and advice of top experts here in the U.S. We believe that perfecting the processing of the fibers and yarns which will, in turn, create fabrics and garments of the highest quality is critical for the launch of our joint venture apparel brand, SpydaSilkTM. Kraig Labs and our partner Kings Group have intentionally slowed down the marketing and launch of the SpydaSilk, the website, and its social media presence, to align with the future release of the brand's first products.
Many of you have asked, in recent months, about the near-term potential for an up-listing to a national exchange. Our focus is on building the Company and its fundamentals, most particularly larger scale production. The robustness of our silkworms in the production environment is now the largest bottleneck to large-scale production, and that is the reason for our emphasis on Mendelian genetics and hybridization. Management believes that it would be a miscalculation to attempt an up-list while experiencing a production bottleneck. The sooner we can create new strains and achieve large-scale production, the better for our fundamentals and for the prospect of moving to a larger exchange.
Our focus remains on developing and improving the robustness of our silkworm strains that can sustain large-scale spider silk production and leveraging that to build a sustainable market presence for Kraig Labs, SpydaSilk, and other future partnerships.
A few shareholders raised questions about the high temperatures that Vietnam recently experienced. First, those record temperatures were set in Thanh Hoa province, more than 700km north of our facilities in Quang Nam. Prodigy Textiles has not experienced any record-setting local temperatures, and even if such climate abnormalities occur in the future, it is equipped to handle them. Prodigy Textiles operates from a historical silk breeding facility constructed with double-insulating brick and concrete walls to regulate temperatures inside. When we renovated the facility, we added air processing and conditioning equipment to all of our rearing facilities to ensure tight control of climate conditions in our egg breeding center, allowing year-round operation. This heat wave also hit the country while our third-party contractor has paused their operations as they await the delivery of more robust silkworms from our teams here at Kraig and Prodigy. The increased robustness that we are building into our transgenics through the global sourcing of commercial silkworm genetics should strengthen their operations for climate variances and disease resistance.
As our team works to eliminate the current production bottleneck by improving background genetics through cross-breeding and hybridization, another emphasis is on creating new transgenics for the production of more advanced materials. Those two main thrusts of our operation are the reason behind the expansion of our R&D staff. We are excited about the progress we have made internally over the last quarter, and we are very excited to see the continuing progress we are making on enhancing background genetics.
I want to thank our R&D team for their dedication to this work and I also want to thank our team at Prodigy as well as our contractors for their insights on production. Production is our goal; production is our focus. Production is the key to our fundamentals and all the opportunities that lay ahead.
- - -
Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.
Letter from kim out. Looks promising
Patrik
DOD submission completed. It’ll be fun reading the interpretations of today’s PR beyond the DOD submission.
Interestingly, this is a conclusion that more and more people who write here lately are reaching. Long-term investors here have actually done a "doctorate " on the company and on the competitors, so these conclusions cannot be ignored.
"i kept thinking that the AF would want to weaponize spider silk...but im starting to think that maybe this is really all about the Space Force"...
This might explane to us yeras of secrecy.
Could it be that KT did not update on moves coserning the Army simply because they did let him?
For years we judged him harshly for that...if there is some breaking news coming form that area , some posters will eat there hat ... as we say ( i do not know if you have that Expression in the U.S
As far as the share price rising substantially in the short term, it’s NOT just about production. It’s about backing too. Under Armour / Air Force / a well-known medical supplier are names (substantive contractual announced backing matters) that could cause the share price to soar without tonnage production. … unlike Kings Group. .. Hey Polartec was worth 50 cents twice. … we need a run for investors to lighten up a little and potentially reset for an even bigger run with such backing to a BO or the Nasdaq. I prefer the former. We’ll see soon, I believe.
Fall. Not May, not June. Fall.
<< These types of posts give hope… >>
And that is the only thing that KBLB produces in abundance - hopeium....
These types of posts give hope…
i was thinking about Memorial day and the armed services...i thought about the Air Force...i have always thought it was curious that the Air Force would be the branch of the military that would want to research spider silk...it just kinda bugged me in the back of my mind..
then i remembered the Space Force that was created a few years ago...and suddenly, things made more sense...
i kept thinking that the AF would want to weaponize spider silk...but im starting to think that maybe this is really all about the Space Force...
just a random thought...
"The United States Space Force is a separate and distinct branch of the armed services, organized under the Department of the Air Force in a manner very similar to how the Marine Corps is organized under the Department of the Navy."
"Its mission brings together both military and civilian assets to maintain and enhance the competitive edge of the Department of Defense, with a singular focus on protecting our interest and security in space."
<< With 2 days left in May, we still have a good chance for world changing news this month. >>
That is extremely doubtful, since this is a short week. Plus the Scumbag CEO is probably on vacation drinking champagne and eating caviar with all of the money he gives himself.
Well Jetow I hope you are right but what amazes me is we hear many opinions on what is going to take place with KBLB in the future but we never hear the opinion from the only person that really counts. He stays as quiet as a church mouse. LOL!
With 2 days left in May, we still have a good chance for world changing news this month. That would make a great June.... Stay tuned....
Faith, thanks for providing both of your nice DD finds. Great job!
May 5, 2023 Spider silk promotes the formation of natural tissue in a cell-specific manner. In many cases, biomedical restoration of damaged or destroyed tissue depends on stimulating and controlling the development of specific cells. Cells of different types, for example skin, muscle and nerve cells, must be involved in order to create a functioning cell ...
https://www.bionity.com/en/news/1180376/leading-the-way-in-regenerative-medicine-cell-specific-properties-of-novel-spider-silk-materials.html
Leading the way in regenerative medicine: cell-specific properties of novel spider silk materials
05-May-2023 - Bayreuth, DE
Materials made of spider silk can be specifically modified or processed in such a way that living cells of a certain type adhere to them, grow and proliferate. This has been discovered by researchers at the University of Bayreuth under the direction of Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel. Cell-specific effects of the materials can be generated by biochemical modifications of the silk proteins, but also by surface structuring of spider silk coatings. The research findings, published in "Advanced Healthcare Materials" and "Advanced Materials Interfaces", are pioneering for regenerative medicine and the production of artificial tissue.
Symbolic image
Computer-generated image
Computer-generated image Vanessa Trossmann
Spider silk promotes the formation of natural tissue in a cell-specific manner
In many cases, biomedical restoration of damaged or destroyed tissue depends on stimulating and controlling the development of specific cells. Cells of different types, for example skin, muscle and nerve cells, must be involved in order to create a functioning cell network. A scaffold of spider silk implanted in the body, to which a growing number of newly developing cells attach, provides important prerequisites for this natural rebuilding process: Spider silk proteins are biodegradable and generally compatible with existing cells of the organism. The Bayreuth research results obtained at the Chair of Biomaterials now show how such a scaffold made of spider silk can be optimized. For spatially different sections of the scaffold, materials can be used in the future that are particularly well suited for the targeted attachment, growth and proliferation of cells of a required cell type. As a result, such a spider silk scaffold implanted in the body is ideally suited for the production of large natural tissue structures involving different cell types. It is gradually degraded in a natural way as the tissue regeneration progresses.
Spider silk implant coatings suppress rejection reactions
The results of the two studies will also benefit the optimization of implants that are intended to permanently replace natural tissue and remain in the body. This requires materials that ensure that the implants are not rejected by inflammation or allergic reactions. A coating of spider silk, which is optimally adapted to the respective cell types in the surrounding tissue and promotes their attachment, helps to avoid such rejection reactions and thus contributes to the smooth integration of the implant into the natural tissue.
Cell-specific effects through biochemical modifications
As the Bayreuth researchers have demonstrated, cell-specific effects of spider silk materials can be produced by functionally modifying silk proteins through the incorporation of peptides, which are short-chain polyamino acids. Peptides that interact with cells (cell-adhesive peptides) are present in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of natural tissues: This is a lattice-like molecular structure that fills the spaces between neighboring cells in a tissue and stabilizes their spatial arrangement. The Bayreuth researchers have grafted some cell-adhesive peptides found in the ECM of numerous organisms – including humans – into several variants of a silk protein derived from a spider silk of the garden cross spider. As a result of biochemical modification, some of these altered silk proteins were found to be generally cell-adhesive, while others generally exhibited cell-repellent behaviour. In some cases, however, cell-specific interactions were observed in addition. Particularly striking were the effects of the peptide KGD: it specifically promotes the attachment and growth of myoblasts. These are embryonic muscle precursor cells that can develop into muscle fibers.
"Our research results point to a novel pathway leading to cell-specific applications of materials made from spider silk – whether in the design of scaffolds to promote natural regenerative processes, in the coating of implants, or even in the 3D printing of hydrogels with encapsulated cells that can be further processed into functional materials," said Vanessa Trossmann M.Sc., lead author of the study published in Advanced Healthcare Materials.
Cell-specific effects through surface structuring of spider silk coatings
The study, published in Advanced Materials Interfaces, presents a different way to optimize spider silk materials. Coatings made from one silk protein derived directly from the silk of the garden spider do not exhibit cell-adhesive behavior on their own – without biochemical modification. The research team led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel has now used a lithographic process to structure the surface of these coatings in such a way as to specifically stimulate the attachment and growth of cells of a certain type. The reactions of different cells to the shape and size of the geometric structures imprinted in the surface depend strongly on the respective cell type, among other parameters, as extensive tests have shown. "Based on our research results, it will be possible to lithographically optimize coatings made of silk proteins or other biocompatible materials in such a way that they stimulate and drive the natural regeneration of complex tissue structures in a cell-specific manner," says Scheibel.
https://en.sggp.org.vn/fluctuations-in-mulberry-silkworm-farming-post102456.html
Ordinary silkworm info from Vietnam.
"The platinum filaments melted. Lights lasted a few minutes."
no..they didnt burn out in minutes...and if the platinum wasnt so expensive, edison might have made platinum last much longer...but he went back to carbon fiber which itself wasnt all that long lasting either...nor was it particularly reliable...it was some hungarian who came up with a tungsten filament that was what made the light bulb a household item...
like i said...edison didnt invent the light bulb...he just improved upon it...and others did as well..
"You conjecture, I do, everyone does"
but some conjectures are ALWAYS worst case scenarios...
"Some conjectures hang closer to the fragmentary bits of evidence we are provided"
and turned into doomsday scenarios...
"I’ve described how my conjectures are consistent with these fragmentary bits of evidence"
funny how they somehow always seem to lead to nothing but bad outcomes...
"but also acknowledge that other interpretations are possible."
yea..sort of like when saying kblb is a scam and is doomed to die a horrible death taking all shareholders down with it...but gosh i do hope the best for them...lol
" If Thompson manages to succeed with his Gen 1 hybrids, people won’t worry so much about what happened. The focus will be on the future. But if we are sitting here in December 2023 waiting for news about production, I suspect that many investors will have concluded Thompson was unable to overcome the difficulties in producing commercial quantities of silk that match his quality tests."
ummmm...yea...if kblb does well, then investors be happy...if kblb doesnt do well then investors not be happy...
great insight
The platinum filaments melted. Lights lasted a few minutes. Read the book if you don’t believe me. It’s even got pictures.
With KBLB, Thompson does not provide sufficient information to determine what is happening. You conjecture, I do, everyone does. Some conjectures hang closer to the fragmentary bits of evidence we are provided, others are quite far away.
I’ve described how my conjectures are consistent with these fragmentary bits of evidence but also acknowledge that other interpretations are possible. Most alternatives, however, tend to ignore some of these bits of evidence.
The truth may never be known to shareholders in full. If Thompson manages to succeed with his Gen 1 hybrids, people won’t worry so much about what happened. The focus will be on the future. But if we are sitting here in December 2023 waiting for news about production, I suspect that many investors will have concluded Thompson was unable to overcome the difficulties in producing commercial quantities of silk that match his quality tests.
Tick tock.
“He produced hundreds of bulbs with platinum filaments in atmospheric air that did the same thing other similar efforts did: melted in a short period of time. ”
My understanding is the platinum filaments worked fine…they were just too expensive..
As for the rest of your post, it’s just pure BS conjecture
Edison announced he had an electric light before he hit on the idea of a high resistance carbon filament in a vacuum. He produced hundreds of bulbs with platinum filaments in atmospheric air that did the same thing other similar efforts did: melted in a short period of time.
Meanwhile, he was assuring his backers that he had already succeeded. Again, Edison’s Electric Light makes his deceit clear using lab notebooks and archival correspondence.
Edison was lucky his backers didn’t learn the truth. If they had realized his deception and pulled his funding, his reputation would have been shattered. I doubt he would have recovered.
Edison later squandered a fortune on magnetic ore separation. He never got it to work.
Raising silkworms and manufacturing silk are different propositions. Suppose that KBLB can only produce silk from a few generations of silkworms before the quality deteriorates. By the time they have performed the genetic implants and bred to homozygosticity, perhaps the genes will only survive for a generation or two. By the time you have enough silkworms to produce silk, it is no longer DS or MS but something more resembling mundane silk.
KBLB had a long time to breed silkworms for Prodigy. They knew in late 2019 that Prodigy had lost all silkworms. A replacement shipment was made in October of 2020. This shipment was so small that it took almost two years before KBLB had enough eggs for a commercial crop at the silkworm farm. After their first ramp-up crop, the second crop was a partial failure and production was halted after that point.
Why not ship over enough eggs to start commercial scale quantities of silk at Prodigy in 2020? Because KBLB couldn’t raise that many eggs in 10 months in the US.
Thus: it takes years to produce sufficient eggs for commercial silk production but, after one low-yield generation, the silkworms are no longer producing silk of sufficient quantity and quality to continue production.
Whatever the problem is, we can’t claim it is due to a lack of acclimation (the process or result of becoming accustomed to a new climate or environment). Silkworms that die before cocooning didn’t fail to acclimate. They were not compatible with the environment and died. Those that survived did not acclimate. They were compatible with the environment or lucky or both. Breeding those lucky survivors does not seem to help much, as Prodigy and the silkworm farm have enjoyed the opportunity to breed survivors for the past 19 months and they still don’t have a sufficient population to produce silk.
i misspoke...i didnt literally mean no mistakes...being genius is not perfection...no one is perfect...but genius is making far fewer mistakes than most...its being able to see what most dont...to do what most cant...at a whole other level...
and i dont mean genius in all things...there are geniuses in art, literature, business, inventors etc...but there are no geniuses in all things...
im not really talking about savants...but some are...
Sun Tzu was a genius in the art of war...but he may not have been able to boil water...if you get my drift...
imo, Einstein was a genius among geniuses...
“They failed to produce enough silk for even one shoot pack for the Army contract.”
I don’t believe the lab could have produced 200 lbs but it could have produced maybe 40 or 50 lbs…
The problem wasn’t really producing the DS, it was turning it into fabric…out of all the machines and equipment that were needed, only a few were capable of working with DS…and those few did not want to put Kblb to the front of the line nor make the changes to their equipment for such a small amount of product…
There were lots of various issues because Kblb really wasn’t ready…But I don’t think the issue was that Kblb couldn’t make the DS….I doubt they could have made 200lbs, but they could make DS…
“They failed to produce enough silk for even one shoot pack for the Army contract.”
No, they failed to produce the shoot packs but I don’t believe it was due to a lack of DS…
“When they ship eggs to Vietnam, they are not shipping millions of eggs, they are shipping hundreds”
If this is true, then imo, it proves that prodigy works…
“Claiming that there is a problem in ‘acclimating’ is just nonsense. Silkworms don’t acclimate”
Acclimate to the ENVIRONMENT…and yes, every living thing has to adjust to new environments…and silkworms seem to be rather delicate creatures…I should think especially ones that have been raised in a controlled environment for hundreds of generations…
“Thompson knows what the problems are but he disguises the problems using misleading terms like ‘acclimation.’ Shareholders deserve better communication than this.”
On this we disagree…more specific info
would not matter…and in this case, would not be good to release…if the issues were not what was claimed…but I think they are what Kim said they were…it makes sense…
Wanting the reasons to be worse than they are doesn’t help anything..
“Sorry. Edison announced he had perfected the light bulb way before he found the solution.”
First, edison didn’t invent the light bulb…but he did perfect it…and he announced it when he did it…
Edison went on to make the light bulb even better…but just because he continued improving the bulb doesn’t mean that he announced it too early…
I agree DFS. If Vietnam silk worms can acclimate when they hatch, KBLB silk worms should be able to acclimate. Kim used the term acclimate as his general CYA reason. Hey, we are talking the simple sh##. IMO creating the successful hybrids is the difficult challenge.
The AF funding was created specifically for KB in mind it seems....to bring production back stateside and ramp. Just an opinion but really I mean who would the contender be? Spidersilk stateside? NOBODY
- sample narrow weave ballistic DragonSilk fabric provided to army
- knitted fabric made in conjunction with Warwick Mills many many moons ago
- 2022 videos showing Vietnam facility surrounded by now leafy mulberry trees
Now they need to show us confirmation of Global Silk Solutions as an actual entity that is doing something. Give that we haven’t seen squat since those videos came out, it makes me wonder just what is going on and if GSS exists beyond paper? Show us something. Anything.
NEW UPDATE: 2022 commercial production - FAILED
2022: Kings / MtheMovement to Purchase Up To $5 Million in Spidersilk - FAILED
2022: Website & apparel launch - FAILED
2021: Kings / MtheMovement to Purchase Up To $3 Million in Spidersilk - FAILED
2021: "Spydasilk should hit the ground running" - FAILED
2021: $250K prepayment from Kings / MtheMovement- FAILED
2019-2020: Uplist to NASDAQ - FAILED
2019 commercial production - FAILED
2019: Appoint Independent Board of Directors - FAILED
2019: Polartec MOU - FAILED
NEW UPDATE: 2018: "Our recombinant spider silk silkworm technology is a direct drop-in replacement for traditional silkworms and allows us to move quickly, with minimal investment, to bring new products to market" - FAILED
2018: ““We are busy preparing silkworm eggs for shipment and putting the team in place at Prodigy to hit the ground running.” - FAILED
2016-2018: Army Contract - FAILED
2017: Mulberry facility in Texas - FAILED
2014-2015: "R&D .... is no longer necessary" - FAILED
2014-2015: “Scale and sale” - FAILED
2013-2015: Commercialization of Big Red - FAILED
2013-2014: Warwick Mills Partnership - FAILED
2013: SSM Industries Partnership - FAILED
And those are just a few of the MANY, MANY FAILURES that KBLB has had over the years….
Where we disagree the most: I am not certain KBLB can produce silk even at the US facility. They failed to produce enough silk for even one shoot pack for the Army contract. When they ship eggs to Vietnam, they are not shipping millions of eggs, they are shipping hundreds. We know this because it takes multiple generations to achieve a level where commercial scale production can be attempted.
Like everything else KBLB, this is uncertain. I hope they can produce at KBLB and at Prodigy and at the silkworm farm. But the enduring lack of production indicates the process is uncertain.
It would help a lot to know what the specific issues are. If silkworms are dying without cocooning, that is one problem. If the quality of silk produced is poor, that is a different problem. Thompson surely knows what the problem(s) is/are, but he is not sharing.
Claiming that there is a problem in ‘acclimating’ is just nonsense. Silkworms don’t acclimate. It’s not like we could warm them up a few more days or give them an extra week to eat and grow. Silkworms either survive and cocoon or they die.
Thompson knows what the problems are but he disguises the problems using misleading terms like ‘acclimation.’ Shareholders deserve better communication than this.
Mojo: “Edison didnt announce that he had perfected the light bulb until he knew he had...”
Sorry. Edison announced he had perfected the light bulb way before he found the solution. His backers were anxious to see his results but Edison kept putting them off, reporting problems with generators, distribution system, anything but the actual problem.
See ‘Edison’s Electric Light’ by Robert Friedel. Good book.
I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend with family, and KBLB will be on topic for discussion. KBLB isn't new, but real success will be. Success is just around the corner along with mass production.... all, in my opinion. Hang in there, and let's see what the future holds.
Want2retire: “Haven’t we been through how brewed protein processes compare and contrast with what KBLB is attempting to do?”
Yes. We should all agree by now that we know very little about the characteristics of fibers produced by Spiber and AmSilk other than the fact that big names are using their fibers in products, so evidently the big names have found their fibers satisfactory for their purposes.
Want2retire: “Having a bunch of money thrown at something doesn’t mean it will work or be better. Just means there will be pressure on them to produce something, like we saw with Bolt.”
In my experience, venture capitalists perform some measure of due diligence on companies they invest tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on. They don’t always get things right (see Theranos) but frauds of that kind are the exception rather than the norm.
Want2retire: “KBLB needs to prove, document performance characteristics, etc but for the goo teams it’s enough that people dump money into them.”
It is more than that. Spiber and AmSilk have worked with recognizable names (Adidas, North Face) and have produced products that these companies agreed to put their names on. If their product was of unacceptable quality, these sales would not have gone forward.
In contrast, KBLB has yet to produce even a limited-edition tie.
Want2retire: “We know there is a cost structure issue with the goo crew and limitations on what they can produce compared to KBLB’s model but, again, we should just be good with ignoring that because, hey, a bunch of money is being thrown at it.”
We know that producing things costs money. We don’t know how much it costs for Spiber or AmSilk to produce their fibers. We don’t know how much it costs for KBLB to produce their fibers. It is hard to compare two unknowns.
We also know that KBLB wanted to do another public offering but could not find support to do that. The venture capitalists have given AmSilk and Spiber several rounds of funding. Clearly these investors were sufficiently impressed with what they learned that they once again opened their wallets and provided generous funding.
Want2retire: “These goo companies seem like a better example of Theranos. No one knows much but big players are involved so it must be great!”
I disagree. Theranos was a fraud. They claimed to have a new technique for blood testing but were using existing blood testing technology. Theranos failed to deliver on multiple contracts to build in-store blood test machines.
AmSilk and Spiber have delivered what they said they could produce (RSSP fibers) and companies have used these fibers to produce and sell products. The fibers may have been sold at a loss: the costs of production might have been greater than the sales price, but at least we have a proof-of-concept. KBLB has yet to provide proof that fibers can be produced at commercial scales.
The Adidas shoe was sold, but I believe it was a limited-edition product. AmSilk, like KBLB, does not make it easy to determine which of their collaborations continues and which have gone by the wayside. However, the relationship with Mercedes-Benz was announced recently.
Venture capitalists decided in April of 2023 to provide 25 million Euros to AmSilk for purposes of expanding production. They presumably know quite a bit more about the partnerships and collaborations than AmSilk is revealing publicly.
Spiber provided evidence that contradicts the original interpretation of the passage. Either that passage was made some time ago and has been overtaken by events or the passage was a bad translation.
KBLB has provided evidence of only two collaborations: Polartec and Kings. Neither has produced any products for sale, even on a limited basis. Polartec may have moved beyond KBLB. The omission of information about the Kings contract in the latest quarterly report certainly invites a question about whether this collaboration has been called off.
Meanwhile, KBLB sporadically releases PRs that imply success will be arriving ‘soon’ but fails to follow up on those suggestions.
In short, Spiber and AmSilk are delivering the goods and thereby earn some measure of credibility for their claims. KBLB has repeatedly failed to deliver on promises and thereby earns some measure of skepticism for their claims.
it dont matter...AF funding is a SLAM DUNK!!...
once we start getting funded, and if we are not mass producing in vietnam, i say we go back to producing at prodigy and ramping that up...shitcan the kings contract, take spydasilk out back and shoot it...and the contractor can go back to doing whatever he was doing before...
we should then sell whatever prodigy produces to whomever wants the DS FIBER...period...no more making clothing or fabric or worrying about blends...i dont care if someone wants to make straws out of ds...as long as we make a profit....preferably a handsome profit...we can expand if there is reason too...
otherwise the focus should be the AF and building a facility that kblb can use to fulfill the AF needs as well as medical for kblb...
now thats a leap and getting way ahead of things but what the hell...we need to quit trying to accomplish "drop in and replace" if it aint working...just go back to what works...i believe prodigy works...so lets get back to that and go from there...
again, thats IF we arent mass producing by the time AF funding kicks in...
I agree it will be largely in spite of Kim. And, you are right that Kim just has some common sense in his hiring and delegating ... nothing genius in it. So, you win. Lol.
I don't care if Kim gets any credit at all. I know you certainly won't be giving him any when success does come. I hope Kim does give it to everyone that actually did the work to bring about the success. There isn't really too much to pat oneself on the back about when it comes to hiring or contracting someone that does the work that bring about the success.
"Because we are all very capable of mistakes."
which is why we arent all geniuses...
"No ... genius learns from their mistakes until they get it right. ... see Thomas Edison."
research and development will almost always involve trial and error as well as a process of elimination...there is no failure or mistakes in research and development...
Edison didnt announce that he had perfected the light bulb until he knew he had...
in kim's case, he has announced production success several times without actually having it...he made several announcements about immunity worms making it appear that success was imminent...havent heard a thing about it in years...kblb sought out the army to prove to them what kblb could do...turns out, they really couldnt do anything at all...we signed a 40 mil contract with the kings group years ago...what have we to show for it?..nothing...
there are many many examples of kim's failures and mistakes...they are EVERYWHERE...this is not what Edison did and its certainly doesnt indicate anything genius on kim's part....and it doesnt show any "learning from his mistakes" either...
i repeat...kblb can succeed...but it will be in spite of kim...
i really think if someone with business or even common sense had taken over 5 or 6 years ago, the pps would be in dollars right now...
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Moderators MU_Redskin1 gimmegimmeminemine TRUISM EOT WebSlinger |
Email: corporate@KraigLabs.com
KRAIG LABS WEBSITE FOR INVESTORS
Quarterly and Annual Reporting to the SEC is available on the Company's Website and EDGAR.
* Financial Statements * SEC Filings *
Outstanding Shares as of January 12, 2023
For issues or questions relating to share certificates or the transfer of securities please contact the company's transfer agent:
Olde Monmouth Stock Transfer Co., Inc.
200 Memorial Pkwy.
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 07716
Phone: (732) 872-2727
(since August 14, 2013)
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (KBLB) is the first company with a commercially feasible spidersilk to be mass produced.
Kraig Labs is a biotechnology company focused on the development of commercially significant high performance polymers and technical fibers. Kraig Lab's focus has been on the production of a transgenic silkworm incorporating specific gene sequences from the golden orb weaving spider. These specific gene sequences inserted are to enable the silkworm to spin a new recombinant fiber which incorporates spider silk proteins. With the scientific breakthrough announced on September 29, 2010, Kraig Labs is now working to commercialize the transgenic silkworms to compete in the garment industry silk market. The value for the chinese raw silk market alone is 3-5 billion per annum. With the creation of 20 seperate transgenic silkworms, all with unique properties, Kraig Labs is now working at an accelerated pace to build upon their first generation transgenic organisms to develop their second generation of transgenic silkworm incorporating spider silk proteins. The scientists nearly doubled the strength of the silkworm with these specific spider gene insertions. Their second generation of transgenics are expected to be complete in 2011. These second generation organisms are to be compared with the strength, flexibility and resiliency of the native spider in which the gene sequences are derived from. These fibers which will match the strength of spider silk are expected to compete in the technical textiles market valued in excess of 120 billion per annum. The 3rd generation organisms are currently in the planning phase. These organisms are expected to spin fibers exceeding the strength of native spiders and may incorporate gene sequences that release an antibiotic, or to help reduce scarring with use in bandages.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has a sponsored research and development program with the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Wyoming. The genetic work is occurring at the University of Notre Dame, headed by Dr Malcolm Fraser, Phd. The gene sequences are derived from Dr. Randy Lewis's(University of Wyoming) patented gene sequences of the golden orb weaving spider. Kraig labs is paying for all expenses incurred for this research and development program, and thus Kraig Labs has exclusive global commercialization rights with the technologies developed, including methods, organisms, and fibers produced.
MANAGEMENT
Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO
As the CEO of the company, Mr. Thompson is the only member of the scientific advisory board who is also
a part of the corporation's management. His formal education lies in the fields of economics and law.
He received his B.A. in Applied Economics from James Madison College at Michigan State University.
He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 1994.
Mr. Thompson founded Kraig Biocraft Laboratories in his pursuit of the development of new biotechnologies
with industrial applications. As chairman of the scientific advisory board, he brings a unique perspective,and
acts as the primary liaison between the advisory board and the corporation.
Mr. Thompson brings a wealth of experience in business management and consultation to Kraig. Following
the completion of his undergraduate degree, Mr. Thompson joined California Craftsman, Inc. as a
Vice-President with primary responsibility for both marketing and human resources.
Kim Thompson was the director of business development at Franchise Venture Partners, LLC. He subsequently
joined the firm of Shearson, Lehman, Hutton where he specialized in equity trading and research of small cap
companies. Mr. Thompson received the highest series seven score for all Shearson brokers in his class nationwide.
His experience in those small cap equity markets has proven to be invaluable both in his legal and business successes.
Prior to becoming a public company CEO, Mr. Thompson was the founder and senior litigation partner in a California
commercial law firm where he worked as corporate and litigation counsel to privately held and public companies.
His many accomplishments in corporate law include winning and collecting in full what his firm believes to have been
the largest award of lost profits in a California commercial arbitration up to that time. An important part of his work was
winning victories on behalf of corporate clients in disputes over intellectual property and distribution rights. He has
represented business clients ranging from small start ups and micro caps to Fortune 100 companies.
With a background in business leadership and in advising public and private corporations, Kim Thompson continues
to bring a unique perspective to the successful management of business. His extensive business and legal background
enables him to create practical solutions to business problems and seize opportunities for growth.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Triple Nine Society for persons with documented genius level IQs (having tested above
the 99.9th percentile). He is also active in the realm of science and invention where he has to his credit a number of
provisional patent applications including innovations in the areas of biotechnology, organic polymers, genetic engineering
and magnetic field manipulation, among others.
Mr. Rice has over 13 years’ experience growing development stage businesses with a focus on technology development, commercialization, and go to market strategies. Mr. Rice holds a B.S. in Chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University.
Prior to joining Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Mr. Rice was the Director of Advanced Technologies for Ultra Electronics, AMI. In this role, Mr. Rice was responsible for the identification, capture, and execution of new technology programs. During his tenure with AMI, Rice secured more than twenty five million dollars in funded development programs from the US Department of Defense which his team successfully leveraged into commercially viable spinoff products. Mr. Rice was also responsible for technical sales, marketing, and promotion of AMI’s products and capabilities. Rice joined AMI as the third full time employee and helped to lead the organization through its rapid growth and ultimate acquisition by Ultra Electronics in 2011.
Earlier in his career Mr. Rice developed unique advanced manufacturing techniques, established and trained a production staff, led engineering development, authored numerous technical papers, and is a recognized subject matter expert. Mr. Rice holds 5 issued patents and numerous provisional patents.
Mr. Rice brings a history of transforming revolutionary ideas into viable commercial products.
Mr. Rice is currently completing his Masters of Business Administration through the Executive Program at the Eli Broad College of Business: Michigan State University.
Despite the huge potential of genetically modified animals outside of laboratory research, commercialisation of these animals has been extremely limited. Numerous factors, including negative consumer perception, regulatory hurdles, and limitations inherent to classical GM technologies, have kept the majority of GM animal applications within the realm of academic research. However genome editing using zinc finger nucleases could help develop new markets for the future commercialisation of GM animals.
Genetic modification is commonplace throughout the life sciences sector, from fundamental research to pharmaceutical testing. GM cellular and animal models are valuable tools for the study of many chronic diseases, the testing of pharmaceutical compounds and the development of new therapeutic strategies. Genetic modification also offers great benefits in vaccine and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, which rely heavily on the use of GM organisms for biomolecule design and production. Modifying the genome of an organism or cell line allows the incorporation of target biomolecules in specific biological contexts, as well as the transfer of a gene product from a low-producing organism to one that can produce on a commercial scale. These applications have been widely accepted for many years, with countless GM organisms approved for medical manufacturing applications by drug regulators in all major countries. Despite this widespread success within the research and pharmaceutical sectors, the use of GM organisms outside of these markets has been limited.
Despite the lack of broad acceptance for most commercial applications of GM animal products, this technology has been able to gain traction in a few market sectors. The most obvious application has been the commercialisation of transgenic animals for the production of biomolecules for therapeutic use. Cattle, sheep and goats have been used for large-scale production of antibodies, steroids and hormones - most notably insulin - for many years. In 2009, GTC Biotherapeutics received US FDA approval for bioproduction of a recombinant human antithrombin. This product - ATryn - is extracted from the milk of transgenic goats, and is the first approved biopharmaceutical to be produced using genetically engineered animals. Although this is a significant breakthrough for the commercialisation of GM animals, it is still within the pharmaceutical industry, and is a natural progression of existing cell-based technologies. Of potentially greater commercial interest is the extension of genetic engineering outside of this sector, into areas such as food production, textiles and even companion animals.
GM crops have been available in many countries since the early 1990s, and numerous cash crops - including sugar beet, soybean, corn and tomatoes - have been modified to improve resistance to disease, increase the rate of growth or enhance nutritional value. However, cultivation of these transgenic crops is generally tightly regulated, particularly within the European Union, and this, together with negative public opinion, has limited the more widespread development of GM technologies.
Similar to GM crops, many of the animals currently under development are intended to confer disease resistance, an application particularly suited to the use of zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology. Many diseases can be treated by the targeted deletion or modification of a host gene. With ZFNs, these targets can be modified with no footprint of genetic engineering. Due to the high costs of raising livestock, another area of focus in developing commercial GM animals has been increasing the rate of growth or size of animals. Among the first GM animals likely to be launched is a fast growing salmon from AquaBounty. The AquAdvantage Salmon is designed to reach market size in half the time of a wild type salmon, reducing costs for fish farmers and limiting the environmental impact of salmon farming by avoiding the need for ocean pens.
Although genetic engineering of animals for food is primarily driven by economic pressures, GM technologies have also been used in the companion animals market. In this sector, genetic modification can be used for practical purposes - such as the creation of hypoallergenic animals or the correction of heritable congenital defects which have arisen though inbreeding - or for purely cosmetic purposes, such as GloFish. The first example of a GM pet, GloFish are fluorescent zebrafish (Danio rerio) that have had genes encoding naturally fluorescent proteins (GFP, YFP, RFP) inserted into their genome. Developed by a group at the National University of Singapore, GloFish were originally created to develop live detection systems for water pollution. They were introduced as pets in the United States in 2003 following over two years of extensive environmental research and consultation. In Europe however, the sale and possession of GloFish is prohibited by rigorous legislation concerning the use of GM technologies.
By allowing precisely targeted insertion of spider genes and concomitant removal of endogenous silkworm silk genes at the same locus, ZFN technology offers the potential for development of transgenic silkworms which will produce native spider silk at commercially viable levels
Perhaps even more interesting from a commercial perspective is the use of GM animals in the manufacture of textiles. Silkworms - actually the larval form of the silkmoth Bombyx mori - have been used for the production of silk for thousands of years, with natural silk still produced by the cultivation of silkworms today. Silkworm cocoons are unwound to create linear silk threads, then re-spun into textiles in much the same way as cotton. Although the applications of silkworm silk are numerous, due to their unique physical and chemical properties, there is also widespread interest in the silks of several other insects.
Spider silk, in particular, offers numerous possibilities within the technical textiles industry, due to its incredible tensile strength and elasticity; characteristics which have not yet been replicated in synthetic materials. Like all insect silks, spider silk fibres consist of repetitive units of protein crystals separated by less structured protein chains. The exact properties and composition of each spider silk vary with its intended function. Major Ampullate or dragline silk, for example, is relatively hydrophobic with very high tensile strength and toughness, as it is used to form the outer rim and spokes of a web. In contrast, hydrophilic capture spiral silks, which form the inner structures of the web, are sticky and highly elastic to effectively entrap prey. This high degree of variability offers enormous potential for the textiles industry, raising the possibility of tailoring the properties of silk to create advanced technical fabrics, for applications such as bulletproof vests, parachute canopies and automobile airbags; biomedical applications, including sutures and tendon and ligament repair; new fabrics, for sportswear and clothing; and even microelectronics.
Although the use of spider silks for microsutures has recently been reported, more widespread application of spider silk technologies is currently limited by the difficulty in producing silks on a commercially viable scale. This is due to the difficulties of rearing spiders in large numbers, due to their highly territorial and cannibalistic nature. As a result, the harvesting of spider silk fibres is extremely time consuming and labour intensive, with production of the only known spider silk garment - an 11 foot by 4 foot shawl made from golden orb spider silk - taking 150 people over five years to produce and costing in excess of £300,000!
.
To overcome these limitations, and allow future development of spider silk technologies, an alternative strategy for spider silk production is required. This makes spider silk production an obvious candidate for genetic modification, inserting spider silk genes into the genome
of other silk-making insects for bioproduction. For example, random insertion of orb spider silk genes into silkworms has allowed production of hybrid spider/silkworm silk using traditional silkworm farming strategies. The resulting hybrid silk contains approximately 10% spider silk
and has greater strength and durability than native silkworm silk, raising the possibility of using transgenic silkworms to produce pure spider silks.
Though straightforward in principle, the exchange of native silkworm genes for spider silk genes, alongside more widespread exploitation of genetic engineering, has been limited by the inherent restrictions of conventional GM technologies.
The generalised process of modifying an organism requires several capabilities, including:
While many different techniques exist for accomplishing each of these steps, most GM technologies offer a compromise between the efficiency of the technique and the ability to accurately and precisely target the locus of interest. Viral genomic delivery technologies effectively deliver nucleic acids to cells and organisms, but fall short on ability to target specific regions of the genome, generally only allowing random insertion of genetic material. In comparison, transposase technologies allow a greater degree of targeting, but leave unwanted traces of exogenous DNA in their wake. Other methods involve the introduction of naked DNA into the cell, which results in insertion into the genome at very low frequencies, usually at random, limiting this approach to organisms that can be economically cultivated at high densities and screened in large numbers. Simply put, most techniques for genetic manipulation are random, inefficient and leave a 'footprint' of foreign DNA. While this is usually tolerated in basic research, it is not acceptable for most commercial applications, and has been a major hurdle for GM animal technologies to date.
The advent of zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology represents a significant breakthrough for commercialisation of GM animal products, offering precisely targeted, efficient genome editing for the first time. Commercially available through Sigma Life Science under the CompoZr brand, this technique can be used to create permanent and heritable changes to an organism of interest.
This high degree of variability offers enormous potential for the textiles industry, raising the possibility of tailoring the properties of silk to create advanced technical fabrics
ZFNs are a class of engineered DNA binding proteins that facilitate targeted editing of the genome by creating double-strand breaks at user-specified locations. These breaks stimulate the cell's natural DNA repair mechanisms - homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) - which can be exploited to achieve rapid and permanent site-specific modification of the desired genes. While HR can be used to insert foreign DNA sequences, NHEJ allows the cell's natural processes to create precisely targeted mimics of natural mutations which leave no traces of foreign DNA. Unlike previous techniques, ZFNs offer excellent sequence specificity, binding 24 to 36 base pair target sequences to virtually eliminate off target effects, and are able to achieve modification rates exceeding 20 %, well above rates for most other technologies.
The technique is already being used to create transgenic silkworms for spider silk production. By allowing precisely targeted insertion of spider genes and concomitant removal of endogenous silkworm silk genes at the same locus, ZFN technology offers the potential for development of transgenic silkworms which will produce native spider silk at commercially viable levels.
GM technologies have revolutionised the research world and have great potential in a variety of commercial applications, but have been limited by the inherent restrictions associated with historical GM technologies. The main drawback of these technologies is their inability to accurately and efficiently target genes of interest, instead relying on random insertion of genetic material into host genomes. These limitations result in the need for extensive and costly screening to identify animals with correct transgene expression (without compromising the viability of the animal), and also result in the co-expression of both the transgene and native homologues already present.
The advent of ZFN technology signifies the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the world of genetic modification, allowing precise, targeted and efficient genome editing for the first time. Production of native spider silk using transgenic silkworms is just one example of the potential commercial applications of this innovative technology, taking us one step closer to the reality of industrial scale biomanufacturing and paving the way for an entirely new spectrum of environmentally friendly materials.
Authors:
Joseph Bedell and Brian Buntaine
Commercial Animal Technologies Group, Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE) Labs, Sigma Life Science
HEADLINES FOR KRAIG BIOCRAFT LABORATORIES / (KBLB):
PHOTOS FROM VIETNAM POSTED JULY 6, 2018
ANN ARBOR, Mich., – January 7, 2019 –Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“Company”), the leading developer of spider silk based fibers, announces today that it has successfully delivered the first two shipments of its highly specialized silkworms, which produce a silk with the physical characteristics of spider silk, to Vietnam.
Today’s announcement is the culmination of more than 5 years of work, and challenging negotiation, with the government of Vietnam. The silkworms from these first two shipments have already hatched and are now enjoying a fresh mulberry diet, so, for the first time in history, the global demand for spider silk materials has a viable, cost effective, and scalable solution.
“The dream of commercializing our powerful technology is now materializing. This marks a dramatic leap forward in Kraig Labs’ business plan for commercial production and mass marketing of cost effective recombinant spider silk, and becomes the foundation for an entirely new industry,” said, COO, Jon Rice. “To our long-term shareholders, who have taken this journey with us, as well as our team in the US and Vietnam, who have worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality, I cannot thank you enough. As we start the New Year, full of new opportunity, we truly have something incredible to celebrate.”
The Company has been working with leading sericulture experts, biotechnology institutions, and governmental agencies, in Vietnam, to further boost the silk industry with our revolutionary technology. Kraig Labs is currently finalizing renovation plans for a ~46,000 square foot production factory in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.
“Our plan has always been to bring our technology to the silk producing regions of the world for rapid scale-up,” said, CEO and Founder, Kim Thompson. “Today we see the fruits of that effort. With its massive silk infrastructure and production capacity, Vietnam is an ideal location to launch our technology scale-up. Congratulations to our team and shareholders, as we prepare for the realization of large scale production.”
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