Transforming drug manufacturing.

rBIO has developed a proprietary bacteria-based peptide manufacturing process that increases production output and improves the economics of essential peptide drugs.

The company is focused first on insulin, with a licensing-first model for qualified regional and strategic partners.

rBIO in a nutshell:

Peptide manufacturing platform
Proprietary process that increases output
Licensing model for regional and global partners
Experienced leadership and investor-aligned commercialization plan

rBIO CEO Dr. Deen Bakthavatsalam explains the company’s insulin manufacturing process and licensing model, which aims to improve the economics of essential peptide drugs.

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Business model

The company has developed a proprietary manufacturing process that increases output, lowers the cost of peptide production, and creates a repeatable licensing model for multiple peptides.

The problem we address:

Complex manufacturing drives high prices

Insulin remains a large, essential drug category, but manufacturing complexity continues to drive cost, margin pressure and supply vulnerability.

For manufacturers and regional partners, a more efficient insulin production process improves commercial economics while supporting broader access.

Investor relevance

Large essential-drug market
Persistent manufacturing inefficiency
Supply pressure as major manufacturers shift focus
Need for qualified regional production capacity
Potential for licensing-driven scale

What rBIO has built

Proprietary insulin manufacturing process that doubles the rate of insulin production compared with current industry production techniques.
Process IP and technical know-how
Bacteria-based production approach
Scale-up path from 20L pilot work to 1,000L production
Licensing model for qualified manufacturing partners

Our secret sauce

Current industry production

IP platform

Proprietary manufacturing process

Technical differentiation

What makes rBIO different

rBIO uses a proprietary bacterial production process that manufactures insulin more efficiently than conventional approaches.

The platform simplifies production economics and gives qualified partners a transferable process for regional insulin manufacturing.

Differentiation points

Proprietary process know-how
Designed for higher output
Built for scale-up and licensing
Expandable to additional peptide drugs over time

  
        Differentiator
        What it means
        Investor relevance
      
        Bacteria-based production system
        
          rBIO uses a bacterial production process for insulin manufacturing rather than more complex conventional production methods.
        
          Simplifies production economics and supports higher-output manufacturing.
        
        Proprietary process know-how
        
          rBIO’s value is centered on process design, manufacturing learning, scale-up methods and transfer-ready operating knowledge.
        
          Creates a defensible operating advantage before patent language is finalized or publicly disclosed.
        
        Increased output
        
          rBIO’s process increases insulin production output compared with current industry production methods.
        
          Higher output improves manufacturing economics, licensee economics and long-term platform value.
        
        Scale-up path
        
          rBIO has advanced from early process work toward a 1,000L scale-up milestone.
        
          Creates a clear technical milestone on the path to process-ready licensing.
        
        Licensing-ready model
        
          rBIO’s process supports qualified manufacturing partners that can commercialize insulin in priority markets.
        
          Enables a capital-efficient commercialization model without requiring rBIO to build and own every manufacturing asset.
        
        Peptide platform expansion
        
          Insulin is the first application, with expansion potential across additional peptide drugs.
        
          Extends the platform story beyond the first insulin licensing opportunity.

World-class team

rBIO brings together scientific, operational, financial and investor experience around a licensing-first commercialization strategy.

Dr. Deen Bakthavatsalam
CEO / Co-founder

As a founder and CEO, Deen brings more than two decades of experience building and commercializing biotechnology innovations, from product development and biomanufacturing to strategic partnerships and company growth.

His focus is on translating breakthrough science into scalable businesses that expand global access to affordable peptide therapeutics.

Stuart Douglass
Executive Chairman

Stu is a seasoned investor and company builder with multiple successful exits in the life sciences industry.

He provides strategic guidance, governance experience, and a long-term vision for building shareholder value.

Shawn Swaney
CFO

Shawn brings deep financial expertise, supporting multiple high-growth startups with financial strategy, fundraising, and investor relations.

His disciplined approach to capital planning ensures we have the resources to execute our milestones while maintaining financial strength.

Dr. Judith Shizuru
Board Member

Dr. Judy Shizuru is a physician at Stanford University, founder of Jasper Therapeutics, and an accomplished biotech entrepreneur and investor who has helped raise over $75 million.

Her expertise in company building, fundraising, and investor engagement will be instrumental as rBIO prepares for its next financing round.

Cameron Owen
Co-founder

Cam is the founder of rBIO and combines entrepreneurial vision with exceptional business development and deal-making skills.

His ability to build strategic partnerships and execute commercial opportunities is a key strength of our team.

Market

Large licensing opportunity, insulin-first entry point

The company licenses insulin first, expands by geography and partner category, then extends the platform to additional peptide drugs.

A LOI is in place for the first licensing deal of insulin.

Global licensing market: $250 billion*

Competitive position

Where rBIO fits

rBIO sits at the intersection of insulin focus, licensing model, manufacturing know-how and future peptide expansion.

Unlike broad service providers or generalized peptide-platform startups, rBIO’s initial advantage is focused on insulin manufacturing economics and licensing-ready process transfer.

    
        Company Type
        Insulin Focus
        Licensing Model
        Know-how
        Multiple Peptides
      
        rBIO
        
          Contract Research Organization
          
          Other Startups
          
      High
    
      Emerging
    
      Low

Customer and licensee targets

rBIO’s licensing model serves organizations that commercialize, manufacture, distribute or scale insulin and other peptide drugs in priority markets.

The initial target universe includes biosimilar players, traditional pharma companies and CDMOs with clear manufacturing, licensing or margin-pressure reasons to evaluate rBIO’s platform.

rBIO evaluates potential licensee categories based on their fit with the company’s insulin-first licensing model, including insulin focus, licensing receptivity, need for rBIO’s process know-how and margin pressure.

  
        Customer Type for rBIO
        Insulin Fit
        Licensing Fit
        Need for rBIO Know-how
        Margin-Pressure Fit
      
          Biosimilar Players
          Civica Rx, Cost Plus
        
        Strong fit
        Strong fit
        Lower fit
        Strong fit
      
          Traditional Pharma
          Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi
        
        Strong fit
        Lower fit
        Moderate fit
        Moderate fit
      
          Contract Manufacturing / CDMO
          KPI Pharma, Cytovance, AGC Biologics
        
        Lower fit
        Strong fit
        Strong fit
        Strong fit

Marketing strategy and moat

Beachhead strategy

rBIO prioritizes markets where insulin demand, partner access, manufacturing need and licensing potential create a practical commercialization path.

The company’s beachhead analysis evaluates target markets based on partner availability, market access, sales fit, research support, and existing relationships.

  
    
        Market
        Product
        Partner Availability
        Market Access
        Sales Fit
        Research Support
        Relationship Strength
      


    
        Mexico
        Regular insulin
        Moderate fit
        Moderate fit
        Strong fit
        Strong fit
        Strong fit
      

        U.S.
        Regular insulin and detemir
        Moderate fit
        Moderate fit
        Strong fit
        Strong fit
        Moderate fit
      

        Middle East
        Regular insulin
        Lower fit
        Moderate fit
        Strong fit
        Strong fit
        Moderate fit
      

        Spain
        Regular insulin
        Moderate fit
        Moderate fit
        Moderate fit
        Strong fit
        Moderate fit
      

        LatAm / EU
        Insulin glargine
        Lower fit
        Moderate fit
        Moderate fit
        Strong fit
        Lower fit
      

        LatAm / EU
        Insulin lispro and aspart
        Lower fit
        Moderate fit
        Moderate fit
        Strong fit
        Lower fit
      

  

Partner categories include manufacturers, distributors and fill-finish owners.

Go-to-market strategy

Licensing drug manufacturers

rBIO commercializes through licensing rather than building and owning every manufacturing asset from the start.

The company works with qualified manufacturers, regional partners, CDMOs, distributors, and strategic pharma organizations.

Near-term go-to-market channels

Licensing conversations with drug manufacturers
Press release and investor communications
Conference presentations
Professional referrals
Patient advocacy relationships
Strategic partner introductions

Sustainable barriers

Why rBIO’s position is defensible

rBIO’s competitive advantage comes from process know-how, time advantage, and platform expansion.

Barriers to entry

3-year head start
Proprietary process and know-how
Insulin-first focus
Licensing model
Expansion across multiple peptides
Existing partner and licensee conversations

Financials

Capital supports a defined path to licensing revenue

rBIO’s financing strategy moves the company from process scale-up to commercial readiness and licensing revenue.

The current funding plan supports four priorities:

Complete commercial-scale process development
Prepare the process for licensing
Build the licensee pipeline
Expand the platform across additional markets and peptide drugs

Funding path

From commercial scale-up to licensing revenue

The current financing plan combines a seed round with a planned Series A.

The seed round moves rBIO through commercial-scale development and process readiness. The Series A supports licensee acquisition, broader commercialization and strategic growth.

  
        Stage
        Primary objective
      
        Seed round
        Complete commercial-scale process development and prepare the platform for licensing.
      
        Commercial readiness
        Establish a repeatable manufacturing process for partner transfer.
      
        Licensing revenue
        Secure regional licensees and generate licensing revenue.
      
        Series A
        Expand the licensee base, enter additional markets and advance strategic growth.

Use of seed funds

Focused investment in scale-up and commercialization

The $5.5 million seed round allocates capital across three workstreams:

Scale-up: $3.0 million
Business development and licensing: $2.0 million
Operations and team: $0.5 million

The largest allocation advances the manufacturing process to commercial scale. Business-development funding builds the licensee pipeline and supports market entry. Operating capital funds the team and infrastructure required for execution.

  
        Use of funds
        Allocation
        Purpose
      
        Scale-up
        55%
        Complete commercial-scale process development and production readiness.
      
        Business development and licensing
        36%
        Build the licensee pipeline, advance partner discussions and support market entry.
      
        Operations and team
        9%
        Fund the personnel and operating infrastructure required for execution.

Customer economics

Licensing creates attractive customer economics

rBIO’s first-customer model projects a lifetime value of $30 million against a customer-acquisition investment of $3.5 million.

This produces an estimated LTV/CAC ratio of 8.6x.

The model reflects the value of a long-term licensing relationship relative to the technical, commercial and relationship-development investment required to secure a licensee.

  
        Metric
        Current model
      
        Customer lifetime value
        $30M
      
        Customer acquisition cost
        $3.5M
      
        LTV/CAC
        8.6x

Financial model

Licensing revenue drives operating scale

The current financial model projects:

Revenue beginning in Q5
Operating profit turning positive in Q7
Net cash turning positive in Q15
Increasing revenue and operating profit as licensing activity expands

The model reflects a licensing-first commercialization strategy with limited owned manufacturing infrastructure.

Summary table

  
        Financial milestone
        Current projection
      
        Revenue begins
        Q5
      
        Operating profit turns positive
        Q7
      
        Net cash turns positive
        Q15
      
        Minimum projected net cash
        Approximately $(5.8)M

Risk mitigation and strategic value

rBIO’s licensing-first model addresses the core technical, capital and commercialization risks associated with scaling a new biomanufacturing process.

The company advances through defined technical milestones, milestone-based funding and targeted licensing relationships. This approach builds commercial validation while creating strategic value for organizations seeking insulin and peptide-manufacturing capabilities.

Exit strategy

Strategic value for established industry participants

rBIO’s exit strategy centers on organizations seeking peptide-manufacturing capability, more efficient insulin production, expanded U.S. or regional manufacturing infrastructure, and access to a proprietary licensing platform.

The company’s licensing model creates multiple strategic paths, including acquisition, platform partnership and regional commercialization agreements.

  
        Strategic Category
        Industry Need
        rBIO Strategic Value
      
        Biologics CDMOs
        Expanded peptide-manufacturing capability
        Adds an insulin-focused process and licensing platform.
      
        Pharma Services Companies
        Broader manufacturing infrastructure and technical services
        Adds proprietary insulin-production know-how and process-transfer capability.
      
        Strategic Pharma Companies
        Improved manufacturing economics and supply flexibility
        Supports lower-cost insulin production and regional licensing.
      
        Biosimilar Manufacturers
        Insulin-production capability and margin improvement
        Provides access to a higher-output manufacturing process.
      
        Regional Manufacturing Partners
        Local production and market access
        Creates a country- or region-specific licensing path.

Risk mitigation

Defined risks. Defined responses.

rBIO addresses the principal risks investors evaluate in an early-stage biomanufacturing company: process scale-up, CMC readiness, capital requirements, and licensee adoption.

  
        Risk
        Current Position
        Mitigation
      
        Process Scale-up
        20L pilot work completed
        
          Advance the process through 1,000L optimization over an approximately
          nine-month scale-up program.
        
        CMC Readiness
        Exploratory animal testing completed successfully
        
          Complete the process-development and manufacturing package required
          for partner transfer and commercialization.
        
        Capital
        Licensing-first commercialization model
        
          Deploy capital against defined technical and commercial milestones
          rather than building and owning every manufacturing asset.
        
        Licensee Adoption
        Targeted regional licensee strategy and licensing interest
        
          Focus on markets and partners with clear insulin demand, manufacturing
          infrastructure and margin pressure.
        
        Commercial Execution
        Experienced scientific, financial and governance team
        
          Coordinate technical scale-up, licensing development and investor
          strategy through an integrated commercialization plan.

Three things to remember

Investment thesis summary

01

Manufacturing inefficiency drives drug costs

Insulin remains essential, but manufacturing complexity creates persistent cost, margin and supply pressure.

02

rBIO’s process doubles output

rBIO’s proprietary process doubles the rate of insulin production compared with current industry production.

03

Higher output improves manufacturing economics

Increased output lowers production cost, strengthens licensee economics and supports broader access to insulin.

Investor FAQ

Key information about rBIO’s technology, licensing model, market strategy, development stage, and funding plan.

BIO has developed a proprietary insulin manufacturing process and licensing platform that doubles production output compared with current industry production.
The company licenses its process and manufacturing know-how to qualified partners, beginning with insulin and expanding to additional peptide drugs over time.
Insulin is a large, essential drug category with persistent manufacturing-cost, supply and margin pressures.
It provides rBIO with a defined beachhead market, established demand and a clear path to regional and strategic licensing.
rBIO uses a bacteria-based production process and proprietary manufacturing know-how to produce insulin more efficiently than conventional approaches.
The process increases output, simplifies manufacturing economics and supports transfer to qualified licensing partners.
rBIO has completed 20L pilot work and exploratory animal testing.
The next major technical milestone is scale-up to 1,000L production, followed by completion of the manufacturing and CMC package required for licensing.
rBIO licenses its manufacturing process rather than building and owning every production facility.
Qualified partners provide regional manufacturing infrastructure, market access and commercialization capabilities. rBIO provides the process, operating know-how and technical transfer required to produce insulin.
rBIO’s target licensees include:
- Biosimilar manufacturers
- Traditional pharmaceutical companies
- CDMOs and contract manufacturers
- Regional drug manufacturers
- Distributors
- Fill-finish owners
The company prioritizes partners with insulin demand, manufacturing capability, market access and pressure to improve production economics.
- Mexico
- United States
- Middle East
- Spain
- Latin America
- European Union
rBIO generates revenue through licensing agreements with qualified manufacturing and commercialization partners.
The licensing model supports regional expansion while limiting the capital required to build and operate wholly owned manufacturing facilities.
rBIO’s competitive position is based on:
- A three-year development head start
- Proprietary process know-how
- Insulin-specific manufacturing experience
- A licensing-first commercialization model
- Expansion across multiple peptide drugs
- Existing relationships with prospective partners and licensees
The next milestones include:
- Complete 1,000L process scale-up
- Finalize the license-ready manufacturing package
- Expand the licensee pipeline
- Execute regional licensing agreements
- Begin licensing revenue
- Extend the platform to additional peptide drugs
rBIO’s current financing plan includes a $5.5 million seed round to fund process scale-up, business development, licensing and operating execution.
A planned $18 million Series A supports broader commercialization, licensee expansion and strategic growth.
The current plan allocates the $5.5 million seed round across three workstreams:
- $3.0 million for scale-up
- $2.0 million for business development and licensing
- $0.5 million for operations and team
The principal risks are process scale-up, CMC readiness, capital requirements and licensee adoption.
rBIO addresses these risks through completed pilot work, milestone-based use of capital, a licensing-first model, targeted regional partners and an experienced scientific, financial and governance team.

Investor relations

rBIO welcomes inquiries from accredited investors, institutional investors and strategic funding partners. Please provide your information below, and a member of the rBIO team will follow up.