Printing the largest ever cultivated steak and partnering with the BlueSoundWaves collective, led by Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary and Effie Epstein, to propel the company’s go-to-market strategy
Rehovot, Israel, March 24, 2022 – MeaTech 3D Ltd. (Nasdaq: MITC) (“MeaTech”) announced today its financial results for 2021. The company is also providing an update to investors on recent business developments. MeaTech is an international deep-tech food company at the forefront of the cultured meat industry. The company is using science and technology to develop high-quality delicious and nutritious real meat products that are cell-based, slaughter free and safer than farm-raised meat.
2021 Financial Results Summary
- R&D expenses totaled $7.6 million, compared to $2.5 million in 2020, reflecting an expansion of investment in MeaTech’s research and development capabilities
- Operating loss reached $17.2 million, compared to $18.5 million in 2020 (including $10.1 million in public listing expenses in connection with MeaTech’s reverse merger into a
TASE-listed company) - Net loss was $17.8 million, or $0.16 per ordinary share, compared to $18.1 million, or $0.31 per ordinary share, in 2020
- Cash flow used in operating activities was $14.2 million, compared to $3.8 million used in 2020
- Cash and equivalents at year-end 2021, was $19.2 million, compared to $13.6 million at year-end 2020
- Non-current assets increased to $18.5 million as of year-end 2021, up from $3.6 million at year-end 2020, driven mainly by the initial consolidation of the financial results of Peace of Meat
- Total assets increased to $40.7 million as of year-end 2021, up from $17.5 million at year-end 2020
- Total capital reached $37.6 million as of year-end 2021, up from $15.6 million at year-end 2020
Arik Kaufman, MeaTech’s Chief Executive Officer: “2021 marked a major turning point for MeaTech as we continue our quest to be positioned as the leaders in the cultured meat space. With our acquisition of Peace of Meat, our Belgian subsidiary, and the establishment of MeaTech Europe, we created a broad base of business with an infrastructure for offering cultured fat biomass as an ingredient to improve the taste and texture of alternative meat products. Throughout last year and into the beginning of this year, we made groundbreaking progress with our technological capabilities, which culminated in the world’s largest ever 3D-printed cultivated steak and promising results with our muscle stem cell differentiation. Looking ahead, we will be expanding the company’s operations. A memorandum of understanding has been signed for the establishment of a pilot plant in Belgium to accelerate the production of cultured chicken fat, and we are also, in the process of expanding to the US to advance our cellular technology.”
Business highlights and developments during 2021 and to date:
- Acquisition of Peace of Meat: In February 2021, MeaTech finalized its acquisition of Peace of Meat, a Belgian producer of cultured avian products, for up to $19.9 million in cash and equity, depending on milestone achievements. MeaTech intends to leverage Peace of Meat’s cultured avian technologies to diversify its own bovine-oriented technologies and expedite its entry into the market for plant-based meat alternatives and cultured products.
- $28 million Nasdaq listing and voluntary delisting from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: In March 2021, MeaTech raised $28 million in an initial public offering of American Depository Shares (ADSs) on the Nasdaq Capital Market, making MeaTech the first cultured meat company to be publicly traded in the US. In August 2021, MeaTech completed the process of voluntarily delisting its ordinary shares from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) with its ADSs continuing to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The decision was made to internationalize MeaTech’s investor and public relations efforts into the United States and globally.
- Initiation of food technology development activities in Europe: In April 2021, MeaTech commenced food technology development activities through its European subsidiary, MeaTech Europe, with an initial focus on hybrid foods using Peace of Meat’s cultured fat. Hybrid foods are products composed of both plant and cultured meat ingredients that have the potential to offer a meatier experience than purely plant-based meat alternatives.
- Manufacturing of 700g (25 oz) of cultivated fat biomass: In July 2021, MeaTech’s
fully-owned Belgian subsidiary, Peace of Meat Peace, cultivated just over 700 grams of pure chicken fat biomass in a single production run. The company believes that producing this quantity of pure cultured material in one run is a breakthrough toward potentially manufacturing cultivated chicken fat at an industrial scale. - Partnering with Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary of BlueSoundWaves: In October 2021, the BlueSoundWaves collective, led by Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary and Effie Epstein, partnered with MeaTech with the goal of accelerating the company’s growth and development toward commercializing MeaTech’s proprietary cultured meat production technologies. BlueSoundWaves works closely with management to propel its strategy, go-to-market activities and brand by leveraging the collective’s marketing and strategic expertise and network.
- 3D-printing a 3.67 oz (104 gm) steak, the largest ever cultured steak to date: In December 2021, MeaTech revealed that it had successfully 3D printed a 3.67 oz cultivated steak primarily composed of cultivated real fat and muscle tissues, without using soy or pea protein. The cells used to make the steak were produced with an advanced proprietary process that starts by isolating bovine stem cells from tissue samples and multiplying them. Upon reaching sufficient cellular mass, stem cells were formulated into bio inks compatible with MeaTech’s proprietary 3D bio printer. The bio inks were printed from a digital design file of a steak structure. The printed product was placed in an incubator to mature, allowing the stem cells to differentiate into fat and muscle cells and develop into fat and muscle tissue to form the MeaTech steak.
- Promising results with muscle stem cell differentiation: In February 2022, MeaTech announced the successful development of a novel technology process in which muscle cells are fused into significant muscle fibers that better resemble those in whole cuts of meat. Bovine stem cells were isolated, proliferated in the lab, and differentiated into matured muscle cells with improved muscle fiber density, thickness and length. Based on these improvements, MeaTech has filed a provisional patent application with the USPTO.
- Expansion of cultivated meat operation into the US to accelerate go-to-market strategy: In March 2022, MeaTech announced that it will be opening a US office. The new space will include activities in research and development, investor relations, and business development. MeaTech US, based in California, will be another indication of the company’s rapid growth and scaling efforts.
- Peace of Meat pilot plant in Belgium: MeaTech’s fully-owned Belgian subsidiary, Peace of Meat, will build a 21,530 sq. ft. R&D facility and pilot plant in Belgium, with construction expected to commence in 2022. The new facility will expand and accelerate MeaTech’s cultured avian technology and R&D capabilities and help propel the company’s market entry.
About MeaTech 3D
MeaTech is an international deep-tech food company at the forefront of the cultured meat revolution. The company initiated activities in 2019 and is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker “MITC”. MeaTech maintains facilities in Rehovot, Israel and Antwerp, Belgium and is in the process of expanding activities to California, USA. The company believes cultivated meat technologies hold significant potential to improve meat production, simplify the meat supply chain, and offer consumers a range of new product offerings.
MeaTech aims to provide an alternative to industrialized animal farming that dramatically reduces carbon footprint, minimizes water and land usage, and prevents the slaughtering of animals. By adopting a modular factory design, MeaTech will be able to offer a sustainable solution for producing a variety of beef, chicken and pork products, both as raw materials and whole cuts. The company will also provide meat manufacturers and retail businesses with production equipment.
