Innovation

Apparati is a startup conducting proof-of-concept research in continuous biomanufacturing. We are developing sustainable processes to produce biochemicals used for pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, and scientific research industries. With our advancements in machinery, materials, and enzyme catalysts, we hope to increase domestic supplies of sustainable raw materials for RNA (ribonucleic acid) vaccines, nucleotide-based food ingredients, and potentially other high-value biochemicals using material from biological, animal-origin-free sources.

Flexibility & Adaptability

Biomanufacturing industries can be greatly impacted by volatile fluctuations in market demand. Flexibility and adaptability are key to stabilizing a business in the face of tumultuous changes.  That is why Apparati is setting out to build an automated platform for the production of numerous compounds to de-risk investments in the traditional “one manufacturing process for only one product” strategy. By streamlining the manufacturing processes for multiple products from a singular biological source, e.g. yeast extract or bacterial culture extract, the cost of high-value products, such as mRNA active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and lipids for lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), can be offset by the streamlined co-manufacturing of other ingredients for food or cosmetic products. We believe that flexible manufacturing across multiple FDA-regulated or GMP-related industries can benefit all downstream consumers in this market space by developing a manufacturing platform that recaptures lost value in biochemical goods that would normally go down the drain.  

Supply Chain RESILIENCE

Distributed manufacturing is a new strategic shift in vaccine manufacturing to address vaccine shortages. To meet this new demand for strategic distribution, Apparati strives to increase the number of smaller, local manufacturing sites to offset major logistical risks in the face of major supply chain disruptions. By building lightweight, compact manufacturing machinery, Apparati intends to help build a more robust manufacturing infrastructure that can de-risk major bottlenecks in existing large-scale manufacturing sites. Mobile cleanrooms with interoperable machinery offer the tactical advantage of easier distribution closer to designated points of service, such as healthcare systems and pharmacies. 

Breaking Down Economic Barriers

Preparing vaccines for pandemics comes with huge responsibilities. Derisking startup biomanufacturing costs is one way to allow business owners to take on more responsibilities in responding to public health crises without the fear of severe financial liabilities or resorting to layoffs as demand forecasts suddenly drop. With smaller, low-barrier-to-entry business models (e.g. franchise manufacturing), we believe that revenue growth will be more sustainable because initial startup investments would be low when franchising an Apparati manufacturing site.

Training Future Personnel in Biomanufacturing

Labor shortages are known issues when facing vaccine shortages. Apparati’s model of training biomanufacturing personnel would create a reserve of trained and experienced technicians in aseptic technique in the event of another widespread pandemic. Whether it is an outbreak from an animal population, an industrial lab accident, or a bioterrorist attack, Apparati is preparing for rapid biological manufacturing while being mindful of the vulnerabilities in labor shortages. 

Forward-thinking

Thien Nguyen founded Apparati in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic with the initial intention of building logical reasoning software to help scientific researchers reach conclusions with higher accuracy and speed. After working in pharmaceutical production R&D, Thien realized there was a growing demand for sustainable biomanufacturing and later discovered market gaps in the production of cost-effective nucleic acids, nucleotides, lipids, and membrane proteins. Since then, she reformed Apparati in California and decided to focus on developing sustainable approaches to scale the production of critical and historically scarce vaccine components. Thien hopes to meet the sustainability demands of today's platform mRNA vaccines and the needs of potential future technologies, such as cell-free protein synthesis of viral antigens. By addressing the technical challenges of today, Thien hopes to be able to address in the future many other production issues found in other biological molecules, such as high-value proteins that are difficult to produce in cells and the continuous manufacturing of lipids for detergent and plastic production.