Danforth Technology Company Backs Startup Transforming Crop Genetics

The Danforth Technology Company (DTC) today announced the launch of Spearhead Bio, a startup pioneering a breakthrough platform to enhance the efficiency of crop genome engineering by harnessing the plant's own natural DNA. Spearhead's Transposase Assisted Homology Independent Targeted Insertion (TAHITI) technology allows the seamless integration of genes into both transgenic and non-transgenic crops. 

Our goal is to unlock the full potential of plant genetics using the tools nature already provides.By engineering the plant's own genome-editing machinery, we're creating a faster, cleaner, and more predictable path to crop improvement."

Keith Slotkin, PhD, Spearhead Bio Founder and Chief Scientific Officer 

Slotkin is a Danforth Center Principal Investigator and the inventor of the TAHITI system.

DTC CEO Tom Laurita will serve as CEO of Spearhead Bio. "CRISPR gene editing holds the promise to fundamentally change how we do crop breeding," said Laurita. "It is a genome 'scissors', but to fulfill its potential it requires a genome 'glue' to efficiently and accurately insert incised genes into the genome. That 'glue' is the TAHITI system. I believe this may be the most impactful technology ever to have come out of the Danforth Center."

Spearhead Bio's Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of leading industry experts, including:

• Larry Gilbertson, PhD, former biotechnology leader at Monsanto and Bayer
• Jerry Hjelle, PhD, President, Hjelle Advisors
• Jon Lightner, PhD, MBA, former VP of Biotech at Pioneer Hi-Bred International

The oversubscribed Spearhead Bio financing round includes initial investors DTC, Rovaq Ventures, St. Louis BioGenerator, The Helix Fund, Hjelle Consulting Group and Alta Grow Consulting. Slotkin's research team won the 2019 Danforth Center Big Ideas 2.0 competition, received four grants from the Danforth Center's proof-of-concept fund, and was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation including the funding of a project to commercialize promising new research discoveries through the NobleReach Foundation. Research leading to the formation of Spearhead Bio and the invention underlying the TAHITI technology was published in the June 26, 2024 issue of Nature.

"We are excited to use our TAHITI technology to generate the next generation of improved crops, with the traits that farmers want, but with improved speed to market and consumer acceptance," added Slotkin.