Hudson River Biotechnology

Hudson River Biotech (HRB) is a Dutch biotech company that develops improved crop traits using gene editing to support a resilient and sustainable bio-economy. HRB has three technologies: TiGER workflow for gene editing; Plentrance, which delivers biologicals and agrochemicals inside plants; and the high-throughput screening (HTS) platform that discovers and upscales regeneration conditions.

The TiGER workflow uses CRISPR gene editing to target and develop different traits, including agronomic and consumer traits. The CRISPR follows a three-step approach where it locates the right DNA sequence, cuts it out using the endonuclease enzyme and leaves the rest of the DNA intact, and uses the natural cell repair systems to fix and edit the DNA that was cut. The TiGER workflow is quicker than other CRISPR methods, yielding an edited organism within 6–18 months, using transgene-free delivery protocols without any foreign DNA, and using the MAD7 nuclease, a much more economical option than Cas9. 

HRB also develops tailor-made regeneration solutions for its fourth standalone step of TiGER. It regenerates plants in a clonal fashion from individual protoplasts (single-cell protoplast regeneration), which yields grown and genetically homogenous plants avoiding edited chimeras.

The Plentrance technology consists of biodegradable particles that penetrate the plant cell wall and deliver active ingredients (small molecules, RNA/DNA, and proteins) to the right place. HRB develops tailor-made particles that increase the effectiveness of the delivery, significantly lowering the dosage requirements and associated costs. 

Key customers and partnerships

HRB partnered with bioinformatics company Computomics in December 2021 to jointly develop Accel-A-Trait, a new end-to-end solution for plant traits, using CRISPR gene editing and machine learning. It also partnered with Sphera Encapsulation (SE) in 2022 for the development of and patenting of Plentrance, the biodegradable particle delivery technology.