ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“Company”), the leading developer of spider silk based fibers, announces follow up to its recently introduced new Hybrid Spider Silk Silkworm Cocoons, which were produced at the Company’s new research and development facility.
Development for the new hybrid was completed in-house, at Kraig Labs R&D facility using its Dragon Silk colony silkworms and a commercial mundane silkworm strain, which resulted in an estimated 100% increase in cocoon weight, compared to the cocoons that the Company was producing just four months ago in Indiana.
The Company understood that silkworms have been producing mundane silk for thousands of years and, that by employing the existing sericulture infrastructure, as well as expertise and traditions, it can cost effectively scale-up its transgenic spider silk silkworm production. According to Kraig Labs’ data, the Company should be able to commercialize some of the toughest natural fibers for almost the same cost as normal everyday silk.
Eight countries produce the majority of world’s silk today, all of which have the resources and expertise to bring the Company’s fibers to market through mass production. These countries have the potential to play a part in expanding Kraig Labs’ production footprint.
The Company believes that the new hybrid cocoons, along with its first recombinant spider silk producing silkworms and the development of Dragon Silk, are among the biggest sericulture breakthroughs in modern history. As such, it’s important that the host countries respect Intellectual Property. This is one of the reasons that Kraig Labs is looking at the potential of launching production in Vietnam.
“When I originally set out on the journey to mass produce spider silk, I knew that there were multiple production platform options. Each of the obvious production platforms had serious shortcomings, including most importantly, an inability to produce spider silk at an acceptable price point. I focused on inserting silkworms with the relevant gene sequence because silkworms have proven to be economically efficient and commercially viable natural silk producers. In my opinion, silkworm remains the only economically viable platform,” stated Kim Thompson, Kraig Labs’ CEO and Founder. “Kraig Labs’ R&D facility is a powerful tool to help us achieve optimum fiber and business performance,” Thompson concluded.
The activity in our industry has recently increased dramatically; most notably, multiple companies reportedly having raised over $300 million in combined funding to produce synthetic silks, which require chemicals and other steps to create their product. While these companies have interesting technological approaches, we believe, they lack the cost effectiveness of our silkworm-based technology. In our opinion, those approaches have no real way to commercialize spider silk in a way that takes advantage of the properties that make spider silk special, or at price points that are competitive with mundane silk.
“Our production optimization initiatives are vital steps in the drive towards cost structure optimization and our new cocoons have shown us that even the most efficient fiber making process that exists in the world today, can be improved. A 100% increase in cocoon size from our existing products without any increased labor is a substantial win for our shareholders,” said Jon Rice, Kraig Labs’ COO.
We have posted our cost analysis on the existing market, and believe it confirms our ability to lead in this space, and why our excitement is growing to begin our first large scale production. For further details concerning Kraig Labs’ cost advantages and comparative analysis, please go to www.kraiglabs.com/comparison.
The Company is updating production plans and will update the shareholders and other interested parties when appropriate.
To view the most recent edition of Kraig’s Spider Sense quarterly newsletter and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to www.KraigLabs.com/newsletter.
About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (www.KraigLabs.com), a fully reporting biotechnology company is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk based fiber technologies.
The Company has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
Statements in this press release about the Company’s future and expectations other than historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” These statements are made on the basis of management’s current views and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations will necessarily come to pass. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “foresees,” “estimated,” “hopes,” “if,” “develops,” “researching,” “research,” “pilot,” “potential,” “could” or other words or phrases of similar import. Forward-looking statements include descriptions of the Company’s business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions and goals. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security.