Plant bioengineering & biomanufacturing

Engineered by science.
Built by nature.

Edible drugs for animals and humans, made in spirulina.
A multi-trait genetic platform, a biomanufacturing chassis, and a lead product for the pollination crisis.

The pollination crisis

Modern agriculture depends on bees.
Hive losses are catastrophic.

62%
U.S. honeybee colonies lost · June 2024 – March 2025
Largest single-year die-off on record
$577B
Annual global economic value of pollinators to crops
~75% of leading food crops depend on animal pollination
$2.6B
Annual replacement & lost-value cost from die-off
Borne directly by commercial beekeepers

Modern beekeepers absorb the cost of colony collapse without effective tools to prevent it.

The available toolkit — feed supplements, miticides, and chemical antibiotics — is reactive, coarse, and increasingly ineffective.

Phenova was built to change that.

The Weave platform

Multi-trait biomanufacturing,
delivered in spirulina.

Phenova combines four genetic technologies into a single, programmable transformation platform — and pairs it with a spirulina chassis (Arthrospira platensis) that's edible, GRAS-certified, and built for low-cost scale-up.

Technologies
  • Precision recombinases
  • Gene stacking
  • Tissue-specific expression
  • CRISPR / Cas9
Payloads
  • DNA
  • dsRNA
  • Nanobody
  • Any combination thereof
Hosts
  • Algae
  • Bacteria
  • Yeast
  • Plants

Lead product · ApiShield

From bees to biologics.

A spirulina-based feed additive that suppresses Deformed Wing Virus and other RNA pathogens in honeybees through orally-delivered, multi-trait expressed therapeutics. No injection. No veterinary intervention.

Chassis

Spirulina — an edible, photosynthetic microorganism with human food GRAS status, rapid scale-up, and contamination-resistant cultivation. Decades of algae-biofuel techno-economics inform our production model.

Mechanism

Bees consume biomass; expressed therapeutic payloads target viral and mite pathogens at the colony level.

Format

Syrup and solid feed-cake formulations, designed for drop-in compatibility with standard apiary feeding practices.

Anchor team

Built by experienced operators and best-in-class scientists.

Management
Paul Frankel
CEO
Paul Frankel
Agriculture entrepreneur, technology and private-equity investor.
Dr. Kasturi Dasgupta
CSO
Dr. Kasturi Dasgupta
Agriculture and food technology leader, biochemist, product development.
Jeff Steen
CCO
Jeff Steen
Agriculture technology leader, farmer, entrepreneurship professor.
Dr. Pooja Saxena
Advisor
Dr. Pooja Saxena
Molecular biologist, plant-based biomanufacturing.
Kris Lichter
Advisor
Kris Lichter
Deep technology leader, operating partner.
Research collaborators
Dr. James Thomson
USDA ARS
Dr. James Thomson
Crop improvement & genetics research.
Dr. Vincent Ricigliano
USDA ARS
Dr. Vincent Ricigliano
Apiculture genetics research.
Dr. Rima Menassa
AAFC Canada
Dr. Rima Menassa
Plant-manufactured veterinary vaccines.
Dr. Erica Spackman
USDA ARS
Dr. Erica Spackman
Exotic and emerging avian viral disease research.

Get in touch

Let's bring it to market together.

For investors, partners, or media — reach out directly to any of us, or to the general inbox.

CEO
Paul Frankel
paul@phenovabio.com
CSO
Dr. Kasturi Dasgupta
kasturi@phenovabio.com
CCO
Jeff Steen
jeff@phenovabio.com

Or write to info@phenovabio.com.