Osborne Clarke advises Bluu Biosciences in EUR 7 Mio financing round

Osborne Clarke has advised Berlin-based startup Bluu Biosciences in a EUR 7 million round of financing from investors including Manta Ray Ventures, Norrsken VC, Be8, CPT Capital and Lever VC. The biotech company is the first in Europe to specialise in the development and production of cell-based fish. There are currently only a handful of other companies active in this field worldwide.

The market for sustainably produced fish is huge and growing. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, around 90 per cent of all edible fish stocks are already considered to be maximally exploited or overfished (Source: FAO, 2020). The amount of demand for high-quality sources of protein from the Earth’s several billion people cannot sustainably keep up with the available supply of fish and other types of meat. While other companies are tackling tuna, salmon and shrimp, at Bluu Biosciences, the focus is on salmon, trout and carp. Carp is an especially attractive target for the Berlin-based company's business development, given its popularity in China.

The Osborne Clarke team that advised Bluu Biosciences was led by Till-Manuel Saur (Corporate/VC) and consisted of Philipp Niedermeyer (Corporate/VC), Dr Andrea Schmoll (IP), Dr Sebastian Hack (Antitrust), Dr Robert Rentsch (Employment) and Jens Wrede (Tax).