Clue Genetics

There’s an urgent threat consuming the planet. Perhaps surprisingly, a fungus may be the best chance at stopping it.

This threat is known as candida auris, a multi drug-resistant pathogen that’s spreading quickly and isn’t affected by current treatments. Things are so dire, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated its emergence as an “urgent threat” requiring the highest level of concern.

Enter a startup called Clue Genetics. This fungal-focused biotech company is developing all-natural, fungi-derived products that can stop this threat.

Using these fungi, Clue Genetics is creating products with applications in areas like crop protection, animal health, home-protection products, and topical anti-infectives.

Fungi represent one of the most underexplored kingdoms of life. Yet they offer powerful solutions to global challenges.

Only about 150,000 fungal species have been formally described out of an estimated 2.2 to 3.8 million in total. And recent analyses suggest that less than 1% of fungal biosynthetic potential has been functionally characterized.

ClueGen is applying sequencing, screening, and synthetic biology tools to its proprietary fungal strain library of over 50,000 living isolates. These resources are used to identify and develop compounds for pharmaceuticals, agriculture, industrial enzymes, and more

ClueGen operates in a space with wide-ranging commercial potential. Natural products from fungi are used in therapeutics, crop treatments, materials, and consumer goods. The company estimates a mid-term total target addressable market for its products of more than $200 billion and long-term total addressable market opportunities exceeding $1 trillion.

To date, ClueGen has more than 3,000 fungal strains of DNA fingerprinted and more than 400 bioactive molecules identified. It has its first license revenues secured and has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR Phase I grant.

The company’s licensing model is expected to generate revenue through platform access, annual licenses, and royalties from end-product sales.

Team Background

Peter Repetti - Vice President & CSO

Peter has decades of experience in key fields including microbial biology and genomics.

Prior to starting Clue Genetics, he was a discovery scientist with BASF, a chemical-manufacturing company. Before that, he spent seventeen years with Mendel Biological Solutions, a company creating biological products to improve crop productivity. While there, he served as a scientist and then the company’s Director of Research & Development.

Earlier in his career, Peter was a research scientist with DNA Plant Technology, a biological-science company. Before that, he held the same role with Merck, a pharmaceutical company.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science from Penn State and a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Oliver Ratcliffe - Co-Founder & Treasurer

Oliver has three decades of experience in the life-sciences industry and has a background in molecular biology and genetics.

In addition to his role with Clue Genetics, he is CEO of Mendel Biological Solutions, the company Peter worked at for seventeen years. He’s also Owner and President of NATSCI Solutions, a company providing advisory services to biotech and chemical companies.

Previously, he was Vice President of Business Development with Koch Ag & Energy Solutions, a chemical-manufacturing business. He held this role after spending fifteen years with Mendel in various senior-level positions.

Oliver earned a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences and an MBA from The University of Cambridge, as well as a Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from the University of East Anglia.

Cedric Pearce - Co-Founder & President

Cedric is a natural-product chemist who’s spent decades in the life-sciences industry.

In addition to his role with Clue Genetics, he owns a small, independent biotech firm called Mycosynthetix. He’s also an editor for the Journal of Natural Products.

Co-Investors