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SynBioBeta Speaker

Riccardo LoCascio

Novonesis

Partnering - Precision Proteins

Riccardo LoCascio is the Head of Partnering for Precision Proteins at Novonesis, with more than 15 years of experience in precision fermentation across global corporations (Novonesis, DuPont) and biotech start ups (Evolva, Arcadia Biosciences). He has structured and executed more than $1B in value creating strategic partnerships—from joint development agreements and minority investments to major manufacturing and commercialization deals—including Novozymes’ landmark $300M investment in the Blair, Nebraska precision fermentation facility.Riccardo has played a central role in shaping the Novonesis Precision Proteins portfolio, evaluating new programs and investments, and launching multiple bio based ingredients, including SONOVA™ GLA, GoodWheat™, and Veri Te™ Resveratrol. He holds a PhD in Microbiology from UC Davis, where he conducted pioneering research on Human Milk Oligosaccharides and the infant gut microbiome.

Sessions Featuring

Riccardo

This Year

Breakout Session

4:30 PM

-

5:15 PM

Biomanufacturing

The Road to Commercial Scale: Capital and Market Demands Beyond the Pilot Plant

Scaling bio-based products to commercial production requires balancing technical readiness with market and financial realities. This session examines the capital investments, regulatory planning, and supply chain strategies necessary to move beyond the pilot stage. Experts will share lessons on aligning production capacity with demand forecasts, managing operational risk, and structuring partnerships that unlock funding and market access. Attendees will gain practical insights into navigating investor expectations, scaling efficiently without compromising quality, and making strategic decisions that ensure products can succeed commercially while meeting evolving market needs and sustainability goals.

Featuring

Per Falholt

21st.BIO

CSO, Co-founder

Launched ~200 enzyme products, industrial biotech scale-up expert

Vanderlei Bellettini

ADM

VP Precision Ferm. Ops

Bioprocess scale-up veteran turning fermentation into real-world products

Richard Kenny

Hawkwood Biotech

Founder & Mng. Partner

Techno-economic analysis for the bioeconomy

Verena Kallhoff

GHP

Sr. Dir, Global Life Sciences

Riccardo LoCascio

Novonesis

Partnering - Precision Proteins

Cindy Groff-Vindman

CINBIO

Founder

Breakout Session

4:30 PM

-

5:15 PM

Biomanufacturing

The Road to Commercial Scale: Capital and Market Demands Beyond the Pilot Plant

Scaling bio-based products to commercial production requires balancing technical readiness with market and financial realities. This session examines the capital investments, regulatory planning, and supply chain strategies necessary to move beyond the pilot stage. Experts will share lessons on aligning production capacity with demand forecasts, managing operational risk, and structuring partnerships that unlock funding and market access. Attendees will gain practical insights into navigating investor expectations, scaling efficiently without compromising quality, and making strategic decisions that ensure products can succeed commercially while meeting evolving market needs and sustainability goals.

Featuring

Per Falholt

21st.BIO

CSO, Co-founder

Launched ~200 enzyme products, industrial biotech scale-up expert

Vanderlei Bellettini

ADM

VP Precision Ferm. Ops

Bioprocess scale-up veteran turning fermentation into real-world products

Richard Kenny

Hawkwood Biotech

Founder & Mng. Partner

Techno-economic analysis for the bioeconomy

Verena Kallhoff

GHP

Sr. Dir, Global Life Sciences

Riccardo LoCascio

Novonesis

Partnering - Precision Proteins

Cindy Groff-Vindman

CINBIO

Founder

Breakout Session

4:30 PM

-

5:15 PM

Human Health

Programmable Nutrition: Engineering the Next Wave of Bioactive Food Molecules

Food is no longer just sustenance—it’s becoming a programmable interface with human biology. Advances in synthetic biology and foodtech are enabling the design of bioactive molecules that target specific health outcomes: regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, strengthening cardiovascular resilience, and even enhancing cognitive performance. From engineered microbes that secrete beneficial metabolites to programmable synbiotics tuned to the gut, this session will explore how programmable biology is transforming food into a therapeutic platform. Panelists will ask: what if the next breakthroughs in managing obesity, dementia, and heart disease don’t come from pharmaceuticals, but from intelligently designed foods and functional ingredients?

Featuring

Alexandra Boelrijk

Kerry Group

Sr. R&D Dir. ProActive

25-year R&D veteran translating clinical evidence into nutrition breakthroughs.

Gregory Hocking

Mars Snacking

VP Global R&D New Innov. Territories

Reinventing snacking through sustainability and startup bets.

Riccardo LoCascio

Novonesis

Partnering - Precision Proteins

Casey Lippmeier

Checkerspot

CTO

Ivan Jaubert

SynBioBeta

Director of Entrepreneurship

Startup-ecosystem builder connecting founders, investors, and corporates.

Breakout Session

4:30 PM

-

5:15 PM

Human Health

Programmable Nutrition: Engineering the Next Wave of Bioactive Food Molecules

Food is no longer just sustenance—it’s becoming a programmable interface with human biology. Advances in synthetic biology and foodtech are enabling the design of bioactive molecules that target specific health outcomes: regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, strengthening cardiovascular resilience, and even enhancing cognitive performance. From engineered microbes that secrete beneficial metabolites to programmable synbiotics tuned to the gut, this session will explore how programmable biology is transforming food into a therapeutic platform. Panelists will ask: what if the next breakthroughs in managing obesity, dementia, and heart disease don’t come from pharmaceuticals, but from intelligently designed foods and functional ingredients?

Featuring

Alexandra Boelrijk

Kerry Group

Sr. R&D Dir. ProActive

25-year R&D veteran translating clinical evidence into nutrition breakthroughs.

Gregory Hocking

Mars Snacking

VP Global R&D New Innov. Territories

Reinventing snacking through sustainability and startup bets.

Riccardo LoCascio

Novonesis

Partnering - Precision Proteins

Casey Lippmeier

Checkerspot

CTO

Ivan Jaubert

SynBioBeta

Director of Entrepreneurship

Startup-ecosystem builder connecting founders, investors, and corporates.

TBD

Session lineup still growing

Featuring

Speaker Coming Soon

Fireside Chat

12:00 AM

-

8:30 AM

Human Health

From Cells to Patients: Solving the Scale Mismatch in Virtual Biology

Drug discovery often measures biology at the cell level while interventions work at the tissue, organ, or whole-patient scale. This mismatch can make accurate cell-level predictions irrelevant in the clinic. This session dives into strategies to bridge that gap: multiscale modeling that nests single-cell dynamics within organ-level simulations, spatial transcriptomics that preserve context, and surrogate models that translate cell-level outputs into clinical biomarkers. Speakers will ask: how do we ensure virtual biology reflects not just what cells do in isolation, but how biology behaves in the real complexity of patients?

Featuring

Speaker Coming Soon

Previous Speakers Include