Over 50% of the fish we consume today comes from farms, but infections in these farms pose a major challenge. Current testing technology consists of water samples shipped to labs that take 5 to 10 days to deliver results. Barcelona-based KOA Biotech has developed an autonomous device capable of early detection of waterborne infections in aquaculture.
Raises €2M funding
In a recent development, KOA Biotech has picked up €2 million in funding. Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood-Tech led the round alongside Fund-F and Faber.
The investment will be used to develop solutions for the aquaculture sector, specifically a biosensor system that detects waterborne infections in fish farms before they spread, reducing mortality rates, antibiotic use and environmental impact. This will strengthen its position in the sector, and execute its commercial plan for future growth.
A brief about KOA Biotech
KOA Biotech was founded as a spin-off of Pompeu Fabra University based on its founder – Sira Mogas’ doctoral thesis. The company objective is to become a reference in the diagnosis and prevention of diseases in aquaculture, promoting sustainable practices and contributing to the global growth of this industry.
It is structured around three key pillars: biotechnology, data engineering, and hardware development. Using biotechnological tools, KOA Biotech has developed a biosensor system that, combined with proprietary algorithms, forms an autonomous device capable of early detection of waterborne infections.
In addition to preventing the spread of infections in water, it also reduces mortality caused by infectious pathogens and the use of antibiotics in fish farms.
According to KOA, their biosensor monitors water 10x more frequently than current solutions. Their solution is based on an innovative hybrid technology that combines living organisms which can detect pathogens of interest, and a micro-electronic interface to transform the signals in an online platform. This information is thresholded to send early-warning alerts when a certain pathogen is exceeding its relative abundance.
Nora Alonso, General Partner of Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood-Tech, said, “investing in technological and innovative companies like KOA is key for the development and value creation based on the research conducted in this sector in Spain, as well as a lever for the development and differentiation of the country’s agri-food sector, with a global impact. Additionally, it represents an opportunity to attract foreign investment in this sector, as in the case of KOA, which in this investment round has the participation of two international impact funds, Fund-F and FABER.”
