Queensland biotech Eclipse Ingredients banks $7 million for protein production

Brisbane biotech startup creating lactoferrin, a key protein in human breast milk, using precision fermentation, after securing $7 million in funding.

The investment for Eclipse Ingredients includes $2.9 million from the federal government’s Food and Beverage Accelerator, as well as backing from Silicon Valley investor AgFunder.

Eclipse hopes to launch its first product in 2027, with a focus on skincare. You’ll find no shortage of lactoferrin pills in the health supplements section of your local chemist, but can expect to pay around $1 a capsule for it.

Lactoferrin is a protein found in mammalian milk that helps regulate iron absorption and boost immunity. It takes 10,000 litres of cows’ milk to produce 1kg of lactoferrin, and its high cost means that despite being a key component of human breast milk, it’s rarely found in baby formula.

Eclipse founder Siobhan Coster, a dietician, first presented the idea at the UQ Ventures ilab Accelerator pitch night three years ago. She’s now operating out of QUT and developed her idea at the national science agency CSIRO, having initially focused on it during her MBA.

Eclipse founder and Siobhan Coster.

“Becoming a mother has made Eclipse’s mission more personal,” Coster said.“Ingredients like human lactoferrin offer incredible health benefits across all life stages – including for babies – yet they’ve been locked away.”

“We’re not just making ingredients, we’re transforming what’s possible when nature’s most powerful compounds become accessible at scale.

“We’ve built Eclipse’s platform to be super capital-efficient, leveraging existing infrastructure and expertise here in Australia at QUT, UQ and CSIRO. That means we can stay laser-focused on what matters…our people, our patents and breakthrough science.”

Eclipse’s precision fermentation technology uses engineered yeast to sustainably produce human lactoferrin at industrial scale.

The technology follows a similar path to brewing beer or making sourdough, but in a highly-controlled environment so the yeast produces beneficial health ingredients, instead of alcohol. 

But Eclipse is also competing with other biotechs heading down the same path, including All G, which is producing a formulation that includes the 5 major human breast milk proteins (made via precision fermentation) but also has human casein proteins formed into the elusive micelle structure, essential to the nutrition profile of breast milk.

“This is the closest infant formula has ever come to the real thing,” All G CEO Jan Pacas said of their breakthrough.

“We’ve moved beyond imitation into true replication.”

AgFunder founding partner Michael Dean said Eclipse’s technology platform unlocks the potential of human lactoferrin at commercial scale.

“By solving a critical bottleneck for the production of complex functional proteins, we believe they are positioned to disrupt the global wellness and skincare markets,: he said.

“For AgFunder, Eclipse represents a pivotal investment in the future of accessible health.”