Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc (KBLB)

[Eskaminagaga]

Hi algonquin,

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. (KBLB) is the only private company that is attempting to mass produce spider silk like materials. Bolt Threads Inc. is a private company, but they are working with Unifi Inc. (UFI) to create some of their textiles.

Here is a snapshot of all of the companies currently trying to create spider silk that I have put together:

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (KBLB)
CEO: Kim Thompson
Location: Lansing, Michigan, USA
Medium Used: Transgenic Silkworms
Initial Target Market: Mundane & Technical Textiles
Website: http://www.kraiglabs.com/
Notes: Commercializing Monster Silk® with Warwick Mills, and developing Big Red, SpiderPillar®, and Dragon Silk™ fibers. Full scale factory in Vietnam planned pending Vietnamese legislation.

Entogenetics, Inc.
CEO: David Brigham
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Medium Used: Transgenic Silkworms
Initial Target Market: ???
Website: http://www.entogenetics.com/
Notes: Received $309,159 contract with US Army to create body armor. Currently growing Mulberry trees locally to scale up their operations.

Spiber, Inc. and Xpiber, Inc.
CEO: Kazuhide Sekiyama
Location: Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan
Medium Used: Bacteria (Transgenic E. coli?)
Initial Target Market: Technical Textiles & Automotive
Website: http://www.spiber.jp/en/
Notes: Created QMONOS® fiber dress. Has raised 780.33 Million Yen (~$7.8M). Working with Kojima Industries Inc. Have built 2 Pilot Facilities. Commercialization targeted for 2017 with full scale operations planned by 2025.

Spiber Technologies, AB
CEO: Mats Grahn
Location: Norra Djurgården, Sweden
Medium Used: Transgenic E. coli
Initial Target Market: Medical
Website: http://www.spiber.se/
Notes: Has 5M SEK (~$720,000) contract with VINNOVA to develop wound patch

Araknitek, Inc.
CEO: Randy Lewis
Location: Logan, Utah, USA
Medium Used: Transgenic Goats, E. coli, Silkworms, and Alfalfa
Initial Target Market: ???
Website: http://www.araknitek.com/
Notes: USU received $1.15M in grants from USN and NSF. Recently expanded their laboratory for E.Coli testing.

AMSilk, GmbH
CEO: Jens Klein
Location: Martinsried, Germany
Medium Used: Transgenic E. coli
Initial Target Market: Cosmetics & Medical
Website: http://www.amsilk.com/en/
Notes: Had a commercial run of Spider Silk cosmetics. Developing silicone implant coatings.

Oxford Biomaterials, Ltd.
CEO: Stéphanie Lesage
Location: Oxford, UK
Medium Used: Modified Silkworms
Initial Target Market: Medical
Website: http://www.oxfordbiomaterials.com/
Notes: £100,000 ($165,000) grant from Oxford University

NeuroTex, Ltd.
CEO: Richard Skipper
Location: London, UK
Medium Used: Modified Silkworms
Initial Target Market: Medical
Website: (down)
Notes: Spinoff company of Oxford Biomaterials. Possibly defunct.

Orthox, Ltd.
CEO: Nick Skaer
Location: Milton, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
Medium Used: Modified Silkworms
Initial Target Market: Medical
Website: http://www.orthox.co.uk/
Notes: Spinoff Company of Oxford Biomaterials. £1.2m trust and £1.7m in funding in 2013, £1.6m trust and £411k grant in 2012 ($8.14M total)


Spin'tec Engineering, GmbH
CEO: Michael Rheinnecker
Location: Aachen, Germany
Medium Used: Modified Silkworms
Initial Target Market: Pharmaceuticals
Website: http://www.spintec-engineering.de/spintec-engineering.de/Home_E.html (down)
Notes: Partnered with KLS Martin Group in 2012

Bolt Threads, Inc.
CEO: Dan Widmaier
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Medium Used: Transgenic Yeast
Initial Target Market: Mundane Textiles
Website: http://boltthreads.com/
Notes: Formerly called Refactored Materials, Inc. Has multiple grants from NSF and DOD totaling over $1.4 million. Received $40 million in VC funding. Targeting commercialization in 2016.

Okamoto Corporation
CEO: Tetsuji Okamoto
Location: Osaka, Japan
Medium Used: Transgenic Silkworms
Initial Target Market: Socks
Website: http://www.okamotogroup.com/en/
Notes: They already create multiple types of socks using current textiles.

Cocoon Biotech, Inc.
CEO: David Kaplan
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Medium Used: ???
Initial Target Market: Medical
Website: http://www.cocoonbiotech.com/
Notes: Newly created company. Working with Tufts University.

There are also several universities working on developing spider silk including but not limited to:

National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS)
Lead Researcher: Katsura Kojima
Location: Tsukuba, Japan
Medium Used: Transgenic Silkworms
Notes: Has released a PLoS paper and woven a sweater and scarf. Silk is 1.5 times stronger than standard silk. Was looking into setting up in India.


Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Lead Researcher: Javier G. Fernandez
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Medium Used: Transgenic Shrimp
Notes: Invented "Shrilk". Hopes to replace plastic to reduce plastic waste.


Medical School Hannover
Lead Researcher: Hanna Wendt
Location: Hannover, Germany
Medium Used: Actual Spiders
Notes: Created artificial skin as a wound patch and bone mender

University of the Pacific
Lead Researcher: Craig Vierra
Location: Stockon, CA, USA
Medium Used: E. coli
Notes: Developing proprietary spinnerets that weave stronger fibers from proteins

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Lead Researcher: Sang Yup Lee
Location: Daejeon, South Korea
Medium Used: E. coli
Notes: Was having issues with maintaining strength in their fibers. Currently looking for funding.