RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Panaceutics Nutrition, a provider of personalized nutrition products with operations in Research Triangle Park, has closed the first tranche of a committed funding round of over $5 million.

The Series A funding will be used to scale production capabilities at Panaceutics’ new manufacturing facility near Danville, Va., and fund research and development activities in RTP, the company said in a news release.

Additionally, the company will increase its capability to perform turnkey direct-to-consumer fulfillment with investments in new hardware and an enterprise resource planning system.

Panaceutics photo

Inside Panaceutics

The funding round was led by DSM Venturing BV, the venture capital arm of DSM, a Dutch global life science company specializing in nutrition, health and sustainable living. Also participating in the round were Durham-based Hatteras Venture Partners through its Venture Capital Multiplier Fund; The Launch Place, an entrepreneurial support organization with offices in RTP and Danville, Va.; VTC Innovation Fund of Roanoke, Va.; and the Center for Innovative Technology’s Gap Funds, based in Herndon, Va.

“Thanks to this round of funding we can now scale our proven processes and serve more consumers,” said Edison Hudson, co-founder of Panaceutics. The company was supported in its early stages with two loans totaling $325,000 from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and has hosted business interns funded by NCBiotech.

Panaceutics has 11 employees, all temporarily based at its pilot facility in RTP while the Danville production facility is completed, said CEO Andrew Schwab. He said the company expects to have seven employees working in Danville by the end of this year and had planned to hire three to five more until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted business.

“Like many other companies, we are reassessing the remainder of 2020 and can’t give better guidance until the lockdown eases and we see how quickly business returns,” he said.

Pill-less nutrition

Panaceutics, primarily a business-to-business manufacturing company, uses automated technology to produce various combinations of nutritional supplements embedded in flavored gels, purees and other food bases. The formulations are packaged in squeezable pouches and can be tailored to the specific health needs of small groups of people with special dietary needs or to suit an individual.

“Our platform goes beyond simple supplements, combining macro-nutrients such as proteins, fibers, and plant extracts fortified with custom levels of vitamins, minerals, and nutraceuticals,” Hudson said. “Our products make it easier for our customers to get the specific nutrition they need and want in a convenient way.”

Panaceutics’ formulations, available in 2-ounce and 4-ounce pouches, are intended to be easier than taking multiple pills or mixing powders or gels. Consumers can carry the pouches in a purse, briefcase or backpack.

Eva Doss, president and CEO of The Launch Place, said that Panaceutics’ highly customized food products and automation led her fund to invest. “The future of food and nutrition is increasingly personalized, and few companies have mastered the ability to personalize food products and nutrients to an individual in such an automated fashion,” she said.

According to recent analyst reports, the personalized nutrition market will reach more than $11 billion by 2026, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of over 9 percent.

This demand is driven by healthy eating habits, an increased awareness of food and nutrition, and the increase in information people have about their individual needs and health from a range of new testing available to consumers.  Genetic tests, blood tests and microbiome tests inform consumers about deficiencies in their diet and their unique needs.

Panaceutics was spun out of Panacea BioMatx in 2018 and has an exclusive license to Panacea BioMatx technology for personal nutrition worldwide.

Panacea BioMatx was cofounded in 2013 in RTP by Hudson, a robotics inventor and entrepreneur, and Lloyd Staton Noel III, a pharmacologist with 20 years in drug development at GlaxoSmithKline.

Panacea BioMatx continues to develop its technology for pharmaceutical applications and also owns a compounding pharmacy, Triangle Compounding Pharmacy.

(C) N.C. Biotech Center