IntegriCulture and Sumitomo Riko take ‘scale-out’ cell ag global with Singapore production push

IntegriCulture and Sumitomo Riko have entered a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating what they describe as the democratization of cellular agriculture, with plans to begin production demonstrations in Singapore and file for regulatory approval within 2026.

The Tokyo-based cellular agriculture company and the Nagoya-headquartered materials manufacturer have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see them collaborate on avian cell cultivation in Singapore, while also launching a domestic contract manufacturing service in Japan to expand IntegriCulture’s Cellular Agriculture CRDMO business.

Central to the agreement is the deployment of the Oxy-thru Cultivator, a 2L cell culture bag co-developed within the CulNet Consortium, IntegriCulture’s open innovation platform for cellular agriculture infrastructure.

The companies reported that by combining Sumitomo Riko’s high gas-permeable materials and precision molding technologies with IntegriCulture’s low-cost cultivation expertise, the bag is capable of producing 1 kg per month per bag, including scaffolds. Unlike conventional large-scale bioreactors, which typically require significant upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs, the Oxy-thru Cultivator is designed around a scale-out model.

Rather than relying on larger and larger vessels, the system operates through multiple smaller units. The bag requires no external oxygen injection devices and functions by being placed inside an incubator, a configuration the companies stated offers advantages in cost reduction, risk mitigation and flexible production.

The partnership will see this technology demonstrated in Singapore in collaboration with Cell AgriTech Pte. Ltd., which will serve as IntegriCulture’s local manufacturing partner. The project will focus on validating and launching commercial production processes using avian cells and food-grade ingredients, including IntegriCulture’s basal medium, I-MEM 1.0.

Data generated from these production demonstrations will be used to support a regulatory submission to the Singapore Food Agency by the end of 2026.

The move marks a geographical expansion for IntegriCulture, which to date has focused on advancing the development and design of production processes in Japan. With activities now extending to Singapore, the company stated it intended to accelerate its path toward industrialization and work toward establishing a sustainable food production system.

Yuki Hanyu, CEO of IntegriCulture Inc., described the expansion as a significant step for the company. Expanding into Singapore, a global hub for cellular agriculture, is a major milestone for us. I am confident that this new production platform - born from the fusion of Sumitomo Riko’s material-driven manufacturing and our technology - will be the key to building the infrastructure and driving the industrialization of cellular agriculture.

For Sumitomo Riko, the partnership represents a further move into biotechnology, an area outside its traditional core markets. Satoshi Tatsumi, General Manager of the company’s Life Innovation Business Unit, said the collaboration reflected its broader corporate approach. Sumitomo Riko upholds the slogan, “Embracing change as an opportunity and boldly taking on challenges without being bound by past concepts.” Through co-creation with innovative deep-tech companies such as Integriculture, we have been able to develop new products in the biotechnology field – a new domain for us – by leveraging our core competence in polymer materialw technology. Including our recent activities in Singapore, we will continue to work together as one to address societal challenges.

Cell AgriTech, which will host the Singapore-based demonstrations, also emphasized the operational focus of the collaboration. David Cheng, Director of Cell Agritech Singapore, said, We are honoured to be selected as IntegriCulture’s research and development platform partner. This decision reflects their confidence in Cell Agritech’s scientific and operational approach and its ability to translate innovation into scalable outcomes. We look forward to working closely together to bring impactful solutions to market efficiently and responsibly.

Alongside the Singapore initiative, the two Japanese companies plan to jointly launch a domestic contract manufacturing service, strengthening IntegriCulture’s role as a Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization for cellular agriculture. The CRDMO model is intended to provide materials, equipment and services to support companies developing products across food and cosmetics applications.

IntegriCulture has focused on building what it describes as a full-stack infrastructure for cellular agriculture, spanning media development, hardware and process design. By pairing its cultivation systems with Sumitomo Riko’s polymer materials expertise, the companies aim to address one of the sector’s persistent challenges: how to move from laboratory-scale processes to commercially viable production without incurring prohibitive capital expenditure.

Singapore, which has positioned itself as an early regulatory adopter in cellular agriculture, has become a focal point for companies seeking to validate production processes and secure market entry. By targeting a filing with the Singapore Food Agency within 2026, IntegriCulture and its partners are aligning their development timeline with one of the world’s most established approval pathways for cell-based food products.

The companies did not disclose financial terms of the partnership.