“After seeing the first yield improvement, we immediately knew we wanted to expand ConvergeGEO across our entire protein portfolio. The results spoke for themselves.”

— Dr. Hamid Noori, CEO, PreFer Industries

TL;DR

• Partner: PreFer Industries

• Goal: Increase protein yield

• Approach: Generative molecular design with ConvergeGEO

• Outcome: 4.5x increased yield, lower costs, faster time to results

Background

PreFer Industries (PFI) is a biotechnology company developing animal-free proteins for food, health, and industrial applications. Their mission is to accelerate the global shift toward sustainable biomanufacturing by replacing animal-derived components with precision-fermented and cultivated alternatives. PFI has sought to overcome one of the most common challenges in production: increasing yield without inflating manufacturing costs. Their goal was to make sustainable, animal-free proteins scalable and cost-competitive with traditional production systems.

Leading PFI is Dr. Hamid Noori, a remarkable leader with scientific depth, entrepreneurial drive, and a clear vision. From our very first meeting, we felt an immediate connection with him personally and with PFI’s inspiring mission. It was clear that we shared a deep belief that biotechnology should make sustainable production accessible, not just possible.

“The Converge team immediately impressed us with their professionalism and understanding of both the science and the business of biotechnology. They’re the kind of partners you want to collaborate with, curious, precise, and deeply committed to creating real value.” — Dr. Hamid Noori, CEO, PreFer Industries

The Challenge

PreFer Industries set out to significantly increase the yield of one of their key animal-free proteins using generative molecular design, without adding cost or complexity to their existing production systems. For a company focused on scaling sustainable biomanufacturing, even modest yield gains can translate into meaningful cost reductions and improved competitiveness.

However, the protein in question was already a highly optimized and widely studied construct, considered close to its theoretical performance ceiling. Achieving any measurable improvement would require an exceptionally sophisticated approach - one capable of finding hidden efficiencies that traditional optimization methods could no longer uncover.

This was the perfect “stress test” for ConvergeGEO, our yield optimization platform designed to push the boundaries of molecular performance through data-driven, generative design.

The Solution

To meet this challenge, PreFer Industries partnered with Converge Bio to apply ConvergeGEO, our yield optimization application. ConvergeGEO received the original protein sequence as input and generated three optimized sequences designed to maximize protein expression.

By leveraging our generative molecular design platform, ConvergeGEO identified sequence variants predicted to enhance translation efficiency and overall expression yield. The process was completed in a fraction of the time compared to conventional optimization approaches, providing PFI with rapid, actionable results.

Results

PreFer Industries achieved a 4.5X increase in protein yield using the exact same production system. This dramatic improvement substantially reduced the cost per kg of produced protein, as more product can be generated per batch without increasing manufacturing costs. The result is a more efficient production process and a stronger competitive position in the market.

What makes this result even more remarkable is that it was achieved without fine-tuning on PFI’s proprietary data. ConvergeGEO delivered a powerful outcome straight out of the box, demonstrating its ability to generalize across proteins and production contexts with no prior customization. In other words, the system was ready to perform from day one.

This achievement showcases how generative AI-based sequence optimization can unlock hidden potential within biomanufacturing systems, achieving superior performance without altering hardware, fermentation processes, or host strains.

Continuous Fine-Tuning

PFI’s private instance of ConvergeGEO enables continuous learning and optimization powered by the company’s own experimental feedback and historical data. With every new dataset, PFI can fine-tune the model to reflect the latest results, conditions, and discoveries, ensuring the system evolves alongside their research.

As PFI expands its protein portfolio, this adaptive capability guarantees sustained innovation and efficiency. ConvergeGEO empowers the team to keep generating new, high-yield sequences while maintaining peak performance across different targets. The more data PFI contributes, the more precisely the model aligns with their unique production environments, continuously improving yields and keeping them at the forefront of biomanufacturing performance.

Competitive Edge

All fine-tuning and data generated within PFI’s private ConvergeGEO environment remain entirely inaccessible to third parties. Every improvement derived from their proprietary experiments and insights benefits PFI alone. By protecting their sequence data and optimization results within a secure and isolated infrastructure, PFI preserves the confidentiality of its innovation pipeline and strengthens its long-term market position. This complete control over both data and outcomes translates into a lasting competitive advantage.

If you are looking to optimize your protein yield, discover how ConvergeGEO can help you achieve it. Try it yourself or connect with us to learn more about the full range of Converge solutions.