Israeli molecular farming company Finally Foods has harvested what it describes as its final field trial ahead of commercialization, confirming that potatoes expressing all four casein subunits within a single plant can be grown under open-field conditions. The company shared the update on LinkedIn, noting that the milestone arrives just over two years after its founding in March 2024.
Casein, the principal protein group in cow’s milk, is made up of four subunits, alpha-s1, alpha-s2, beta and kappa, that fold together into a micelle structure responsible for cheese’s melt and stretch and yogurt’s texture. Finally Foods has previously said that growing all four subunits within one organism, rather than producing each separately as is typical in microbial fermentation systems, distinguishes its molecular farming platform from competitors pursuing casein through precision fermentation.
Computational design behind the potato platform
Finally Foods was co-founded by CEO Dafna Gabbay and CTO Dr. Basia J. Vinocur, formerly VP of R&D at Israeli computational biology company Evogene. The startup emerged from stealth in April 2024 with pre-seed funding from The Kitchen FoodTech Hub, the foodtech investment arm of Strauss Group, and the Israel Innovation Authority. Evogene, which licenses its GeneRator AI platform to Finally Foods for modeling genetic modifications before they are tested in the field, holds an approximate 40% stake in the company.
Targeting commercial launch by 2027 or 2028
The company has previously indicated it expects its casein to reach commercial dairy applications by 2027 or 2028, pending regulatory clearance in Israel and other target markets.
“We usually try to avoid dramatic statements, but today, just over two years after our founding, we harvested our final field trial before commercialization, in which potatoes expressing all FOUR casein subunits in a single plant were successfully grown. Stay tuned. Even bigger news is coming soon,” the company wrote in its announcement.
