Sable Fermentation using latest ag-bio innovations

Long-time Triangle ag-biotech executive Toni Bucci, Ph.D., has a clear vision for her new company, Sable Fermentation Inc.: Enable manufacturing and commercialization of agricultural and other biotechnology companies’ innovation, including crop enhancement, food proteins, enzymes and chemicals.

The company, founded in July 2023, is a pilot-scale biomanufacturing plant, providing expertise and technology to help precision fermentation companies succeed. “We use the latest innovations in fermentation techniques to ensure that scale-up is fast and cost-effective,” Bucci said. 

Sable’s website describes precision fermentation as “the process of growing cells to make customized, bio-based crop enhancement and protection products, food proteins, enzymes, and specialty compounds.”  

Achieving key milestones  

This year has been busy for Sable. The company was selected in May as one of seven bioscience companies to receive a 2024 Small Business Research Loan from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. “NCBiotech has been a huge supporter and is a part of the success we are enjoying thus far,” Bucci said.

Also in May, the company was named a gold winner in the First Flight Venture Center’s Federal & State Technology (FAST) Partnership. 

Other major successes this year include:

• Hiring two outstanding ag-bio experts: Srujana Koganti, Ph.D., lead fermentation scientist, and Kelly Smith, Ph.D., senior technical adviser. Koganti has extensive experience in fermentation process development, including scale-up, and worked previously at AgBiome and Marrone Bio Innovations. Smith, also an AgBiome alumna, has worked with ag-bio companies in RTP and Boston. In Florida, as Pasteuria Bioscience’s CEO, she led the startup to a successful acquisition by Syngenta Crop Protection.
• Adding two well-respected North Carolina ag-biotech leaders to Sable’s advisory board:
  • Bill Aimutis, Ph.D., executive director of the North Carolina Food Innovation Institute in Kannapolis and co-director chief operating officer of the new Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at North Carolina State University. Sable is one of the center’s two-dozen industry partners. 
  • Giles Shih, Ph.D., former chairman and CEO emeritus for BioResource International (BRI), an agricultural biotechnology company based in the RTP that develops innovative feed enzymes to improve economic and environmental sustainability. Novus International, a long-time BRI partner, acquired the company in March.
• Moving into new space at Merritt Properties in Wake Forest and setting up fermentation and other equipment. Sable's initial technology is submerged, or liquid, fermentation.  They also can produce dry solids via spray drying.  The resulting dried product is easier to store and transport.

Leveraging 30 years of research, business expertise

Bucci is well-known in North Carolina’s ag-tech ecosystem, having served as chief operating officer at AgBiome Innovations from 2018 to 2023. Before that, she held various leadership roles at BASF. She has chaired NCBiotech’s NC Ag Tech Council since 2022.

While at AgBiome, she was recognized in 2021 for her excellence and leadership through Triangle Business Journal Women in Business awards and the national Women in Agribusiness Demeter Award of Excellence. Demeter is the Greek goddess of agriculture. 

Along the way, she identified a vital, unmet need in moving ag-bio fermentation technology from small batches to commercial production: scale-up. “… less than 0.01% of biotechnology innovations survive the route to commercialization, often due to the inability to de-risk and scale up precision fermentation,” the company’s website noted.

“A fermentation process developed at the one-liter lab scale does not work if you proceed directly to a commercial volume of 100,000 liters,” Bucci said. Without proper scale-up, a company is unable to successfully launch commercial products. 

Revolutionizing food, agriculture sustainability

Bucci has a lofty longer-term company goal: Revolutionize food and agriculture sustainably. “I have always been interested in agriculture and where our food comes from. When I was in college, I developed an interest in using natural means for producing and protecting crops driven largely by my assumption that chemicals were ‘bad.’”

She came to North Carolina State University to pursue her doctorate in agricultural entomology, so she could work with Fred Gould, Ph.D., now University Distinguished Professor, William Neal Reynolds Professor of Agriculture and co-director of the Genetic Engineering at NC State. She was fascinated by his research into reducing crop pests and chemical use through genomic pest adaptation or genetically engineered crops.

Even with her interest in natural pest control, Bucci began her career as a research and development scientist for global chemical giant BASF in the Research Triangle. But the experience proved invaluable, helping her appreciate the complex, real-world challenges facing growers.

“It is so tempting to get so caught up in your cool technology that you almost forget someone has to want and buy it. Without an intimate understanding of your customer, you may not reach your company’s potential,” she said. 

Supporting, engaging diverse ag-bio workforce

When entering the agricultural entomology workforce, Bucci said, “Only about 4 percent were women.” That has since grown to an estimated 26 percent per Zippia, an online career information site. But there remain relatively few women executives, and Bucci is committed to mentoring women to support them in achieving senior positions. 

Asked about that commitment, she said, “There are so many amazing women who deserve to be lifted up; why shouldn’t I be one of those people to help them do that?”

Bucci has also recognized that “lifting up” extends to the entire workforce. While she was at AgBiome, the company was twice named among the country’s best employers in Inc. magazine’s annual Best Workplaces list. “People want to feel that what they are doing has real meaning in the world. Having a worthy cause is important, especially to today’s work generation. 

“Closely related to that is having a vision and ensuring that your hires understand, agree with, and share that vision. Humans generally want to have a sense of belonging so having a purposeful culture is also critical. Good leaders pay attention to these things,” she added.  

NC State senior Madelyn Phillips experienced first-hand Sable Fermentation’s culture this summer as a product development intern through NCBiotech’s Industrial Internship Program. She posted about her experience on LinkedIn:

“… I’ve delved into fermentation and biotech, working on a Fermentation Market & Customer Research Project. Meeting with CEOs and industry leaders in the NC Ecosystem has been very insightful … I’m eager to apply my newfound skills to future opportunities!”

Learning important lessons from a four-legged friend

Bucci is serious about her work but also has a quick sense of humor. When asked about her company’s name, she chuckled. “Sable is the name of my rescue donkey. I adopted her and her jack (her male baby) from a kill pen.” Both were sick, and the baby didn’t make it. 

“Sable was a diamond in the rough. And much like biotech innovations, she needed nurturing to grow and thrive,” she said. The donkey now helps protect Bucci’s horses from coyotes in the field.

“I felt it was fitting to name our facility after her because our role in scale-up is to de-risk and protect biotech innovations. We also want our customers to feel that their product development is in good hands,” Bucci said. “Or hooves,” she added.