Cultured IP: reaping the commercial benefits of innovation
Visit Gareth Ashworth on stand H96 at ChemUK 2025
There is a new technology that could revolutionise how humans obtain protein in their diets. Cultured meat – grown in a laboratory or factory – has the potential to reduce food scarcity where land is limited, and by removing animals from the food chain there will be additional welfare and environmental benefits.
The technology behind cultured meat isn’t new, but it has become increasingly commercially viable, leading to a number of branded products appearing in supermarkets and restaurants in recent years.
Cultured meat sold by Meatly went on sale in the UK for the first time in 2025, in the form of dog food. In the United States, Mission Barns has announced its retail launch for cultivated bacon and meatballs which are a combination of cultured pork fat and plant protein. And in Israel, Aleph Farms has been granted regulatory approval for cultivated beef. Aleph Farms has even grown cultured meat on the International Space Station (ISS).
Producing a cultured meat product, like a burger or steak, is a complex undertaking making the technology highly valuable to the company and any competitors.
The product may be grown from a newly developed cell-line in specially designed bioreactors according to a method based on the latest understanding, and fed a blend of nutrients that has been iterated hundreds of times. The product itself may contain a support for the meat cells, designed for that particular purpose, and comprise of a blend of ingredients developed in collaboration between scientists and chefs to obtain the perfect mouthfeel for a consumer.
Each component is innovative, and will have taken time and resources to develop.
It is unsurprising therefore that, even though the product itself is intended to be indistinguishable to farm grown meat, the companies involved have sought patent protection for various parts of the process.
Aleph Farms is a good example of how a comprehensive patenting approach has supported growth. The company has filed applications covering cultivation systems for cultured meat; methods for large scale production of cultured meat; 3D-printable protein enriched scaffolds; differentiated muscle cells and methods of producing them, and methods for the mass production of pluripotent stem cells. This portfolio of patent applications ensures broad protection across the technology that Aleph Farms is developing, ensuring that it is not reliant on a single application to keep competitors out of the space that it has built. Aleph Farms has also registered trade marks in key jurisdictions, giving it the tools to protect the brand built on its technology long after the end of the 20 year patent term. This business-focused IP strategy has paid dividends for Aleph Farms as it has secured investment from the food giant Cargill Incorporated and individual stakeholders such as Leonardo DiCaprio who identify with the environmental aspect of the product.
However, Aleph Farms do not have the monopoly on being IP-savvy in this sector. Mosa Meat has a patent portfolio extending from hydrogels for cultured meat production to biopsy devices for transferring a sample directly to a cell culture medium. While Mission Barns and Ever After Foods have filed applications to protect the bioreactors that they have developed for culturing meat.
Last year, Mosa Meat achieved raised €40M in new financing, stating that the funds will be used to scale up its production processes and prepare for market entry.
By seeking patent protection for key parts of the processes that they are developing, these companies are protecting the future competitive advantage that will allow them to commercially benefit from – and recoup – their considerable research and development costs.
Aleph Farms and Mosa Meats have gone further. By creating a large portfolio of patent rights, they have ensured that their technology is protected from various angles. This multi-layered IP strategy ensures the technological foundations of the business are well protected, allowing businesses to compete in the marketplace in the long term.
Will the cultured meat sector have significant impact on the future of global food security, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare? It certainly looks that way, but time will tell. What we do know is that by protecting the innovation with intellectual property the sector has attracted investment, enabling expansion out of the lab into consumers shopping baskets.
If you would like to discuss protecting your innovation, please get in contact with Gareth Ashworth or your usual Barker Brettell attorney.
