PhylloTech, Inc.

PhylloTech, Inc. (Middleton, WI) has developed a new protein production system in plants, based on research funded by the National Science Foundation. The company utilizes tobacco trichomes as continuous production factories that can secrete nearly pure proteins and antibodies to leaf surfaces. The proprietary system can generate proteins and antibodies, therapeutic or otherwise, in a manner that could have broad reaching implications on the costs of these products The company also uses enzymes in agriculture to solve the plant disease problem and ultimately increase crop yields. The company develops defensive enzymes into broad-spectrum topical sprays that can either replace or augment synthetic chemical pesticides and microbial biocontrols. The company has been awarded over $2.6M in federal SBIR grants to develop its technologies. The company’s first two products, phylloplanins and acylases, will enable growers to overcome crop losses from both bacterial and fungal diseases.