Visionary behind R&D team joins c-suite as company edges towards commercialization

BlueNalu, a leading innovative food company developing a variety of seafood products directly from fish cells, announced today the appointment of Lauran Madden, Ph.D., to chief technology officer (CTO). As CTO, Dr. Madden will continue to drive BlueNalu in its next phase of growth, leading the company through research and development innovations in preparation for the initial market launch of its cell-cultured seafood products.

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Lauran Madden, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of BlueNalu (Photo: Business Wire)

Dr. Madden joined BlueNalu in 2018 as the first employee and has been instrumental in developing the technology strategy and leading the research and product development (R&D) team. In just three years, she has led the R&D team through significant technology milestones including pioneering a robust cell line development platform for finfish, optimizing the performance and decreasing the cost of cell culture media, removing animal components from the formulation, and successfully producing a variety of prototype seafood products that demonstrated sensory, functional and nutritional characteristics consistent with their conventional counterparts. With Dr. Madden’s leadership, BlueNalu has developed significant intellectual property designed to result in a scalable process with the least possible cost and greatest potential throughput.

“When we decided to embark on this journey to produce seafood in a totally new way, we knew we needed someone with the vision, scientific discipline and determination to head our technology efforts and innovate from a blank slate,” said Lou Cooperhouse, co-founder, president & CEO of BlueNalu. “Since the start, Lauran has demonstrated a unique blend of creativity, thoughtfulness, leadership, and scientific expertise that has resulted in the technological differentiation we have created at BlueNalu. This promotion signifies the importance of her leadership and vision, and I’m proud to have her on the executive team as we continue forward in our journey to bring delicious, cell-cultured seafood to the market in the coming years.”

Dr. Madden most recently served as BlueNalu’s VP of Research & Product Development and her career trajectory has mirrored the company’s fast-paced growth. In her new role, she will continue her oversight of core R&D, supply chain strategy and cost optimization, bioprocess design and development, culinary science, product development and intellectual property, with an initial focus on scaling up the production of quality, high-value bluefin tuna products. Her guidance will also inform key areas including the company’s expansion into future product lines, strategic collaborations, infrastructure, intellectual property, and further build out of the R&D team.

“It's been incredibly motivating to see firsthand the tremendous progress our team has made — not only in the foundational biology but all the way through the technology pipeline,” said Dr. Madden. “BlueNalu’s vision captivated me from the start. The technology we’re developing is so novel and transformational and I'm honored to lead such a driven team that understands the positive impacts cell-cultured seafood can make on our planet.”

Prior to her work at BlueNalu Dr. Madden was a scientist at Organovo, incorporating primary cells and natural biomaterials into 3D systems. She spearheaded the development of a new 3D intestinal model and made key contributions to the optimization of primary cell expansion, formulation of bioinks, and validation of new assays. Her work led to the generation of new intellectual property, and authorship of peer-reviewed research.

“A chief technology officer requires extraordinary talent and leadership paired with a visionary mindset. Lauran has all of this and more,” said Amir Feder, CFO of BlueNalu. “Her integrated approach to media, upstream bioprocess and downstream process, and strong team management give BlueNalu a leading-edge advantage in its pursuit to deliver products with a low cost of production and a compelling margin. I’m delighted to see her join the executive team and I'm confident in her ability to scale this technology to support global expansion.”

Lauran earned her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Washington. She is an avid trail runner, rock climber, and overall outdoor enthusiast who wants to see new technology protect the environment and provide consumers with safe seafood. A keen gardener and zestful cook, her inventive approach in the R&D lab is directly fueled by her personal passion for food.

BlueNalu continues to invest in strengthening its team and building out its new 40,000 sq. ft. food production facility to advance the organization into its next phase of scale-up growth and commercialization.

To learn more about BlueNalu, please visit www.bluenalu.com.

About BlueNalu

BlueNalu’s mission is to develop great-tasting, healthy, safe and trusted cell-cultured seafood products that support the sustainability and diversity of our ocean. BlueNalu is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for our planet. BlueNalu began its operations in 2018 and is based in San Diego, California.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements related to the development and commercialization of BlueNalu’s products, the launching of BlueNalu’s products publicly, and the type and characteristics of products that BlueNalu will produce. These forward-looking statements are based on BlueNalu’s current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and our efforts to address its impact on our business, risks that BlueNalu’s actual future financial and operating results may differ from its expectations or goals, BlueNalu’s ability to commercialize and successfully launch its products, risks relating to BlueNalu’s ability to successfully implement its business strategies, competition, including potential generic competition, the ability to protect intellectual property and defend patents, regulatory obligations and oversight, including any changes in the legal and regulatory environment in which BlueNalu operates among others. BlueNalu undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information.

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