Microbial mastery for medicine, food, and the future.

Aquaterra Biotech is an independent, science-driven CDMO based in Québec, Canada. We live where rigorous biology meets dependable manufacturing—precision microbial fermentation, recombinant biologics, and next-generation food proteins—delivered with the calm reliability that sponsors need when timelines are tight and quality is non-negotiable. This page outlines the sectors we serve and how our platform turns complex microbial programs into regulated, ready-to-ship products. You’ll see the same through-line everywhere: one integrated path from DNA design to GMP release, with intelligent automation, open-architecture collaboration, and sustainability by design.

Biologics & Therapeutic Enzymes

From bench discovery to GMP microbial release.

Sponsors come to us for microbial expression when speed, cost, and control matter. We design and optimize recombinant proteins—cytokines, growth factors, vaccine antigens, and therapeutic enzymes—with strain engineering that balances promoter strength, codon usage, and secretion pathways against manufacturability (inclusion body management, periplasmic export, or secreted expression in alternative hosts). In upstream, we run batch, fed-batch, and continuous processes from 1 L screenings to 2,000 L stainless-steel pilot-GMP bioreactors, modeling oxygen transfer, heat removal, and impeller tip-speed to de-risk scale-up. In downstream, we deconvolute impurities with orthogonal steps—salt-cut, IEX/HIC, affinity, SEC—building purity profiles that stand up in release testing.

Technically, our teams focus on robustness: auto-induction vs. IPTG regimes, carbon flux balancing to suppress overflow metabolism, and real-time analytics (UPLC, LC-MS/MS, endotoxin, qPCR) stitched into our LIMS for complete lot genealogy. Commercially, sponsors get “cost intelligence” early: we surface COGS drivers (media composition, resin turnover, single-use vs. stainless changeover costs) so you can make phased decisions with confidence. Regulatory-wise, we translate data into dossiers—IND/IMPD packages, method validations, comparability plans, and tech-transfer binders that make site transitions painless. The result: clinically credible protein at a predictable cost curve.

Precision-Fermented Food Proteins

Animal-free functionality, at industrial discipline.

Whether it’s casein, egg-white albumen, collagen peptides, or heme analogues, the problem is never if the protein can be made—the question is how to make it work in food systems with cost, taste, texture, and labeling constraints. We engineer strains and bioprocesses for expression titer, then tune downstream for functionality—disulfide pattern integrity, glycation risk, rheology, and sensory. Where required, we separate food-grade from pharma-grade zones, implement allergen controls, and build process validation tailored to GRAS/Novel Food dossiers. Spray-drying and lyophilization are not afterthoughts here; they are unit operations we co-design with upstream to preserve solubility, emulsification, and heat stability through thermal histories.

On the business side, our life-cycle accounting (ISO 14064) and renewable-power PPAs align with brands under scrutiny for true sustainability. We expose throughput assumptions and drying energy budgets early so founders can model price-per-kg trajectories before investing in commercial tolling. We also design formulations with supply-chain resilience: buffer salts, bulking agents, and stabilizers that scale and ship globally without surprises. Your brand story is science-backed and retail-ready because your manufacturing is audit-ready.

Industrial & Specialty Ferments

Catalysts, biopolymers, and high-value intermediates.

From biopolymer precursors to chiral intermediates and redox enzymes, our teams build industrial ferments that run like clockwork. We manage morphology (for bacilli and filamentous organisms), oxygen demand, foaming, and viscosity with appropriate agitator geometry and antifoam strategies—then lock productivity with PAT loops that maintain setpoints under raw-material variability. Downstream, we implement scalable separations—centrifugation for cell removal, TFF for concentration/diafiltration, and chromatography for purification or fractionation—while protecting catalyst activity through temperature and pH corridors.

Commercial clients value predictable uptime and changeover time. We document cleaning validation and resin lifetime, integrate spare-parts plans for critical utilities, and quantify cost drivers so you can bid long-term supply contracts with confidence. For regulatory scope, we align data packages to EU BPR enzyme filings or industrial standards, ensuring your specialty ferment can cross borders cleanly.

Microbiome Therapeutics & Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs)

Viable cells, viable programs.

LBPs succeed when they are alive, potent, and consistent. We design processes that lock viability from fermentor to finish: controlled oxygen exposure, cryoprotectant screening, and fill-finish methods (bulk frozen bags, vials, capsules) that preserve CFU through distribution. For engineered strains, we manage genetic containment and horizontal transfer concerns with both process controls and documentation that make regulators comfortable. Our analytics quantify identity, purity, potency, and stability; our LIMS maintains chain-of-identity with a digital twin that gives sponsors real-time visibility.

From a business lens, our approach shortens time-to-IND with pre-validated methods and single-use strategies where they reduce risk. We pressure-test storage, shipping, and patient-use conditions up front so scale-out doesn’t force a formulation pivot later. With Aquaterra, viability is not the variable.

Bacteriophage Therapeutics & Biocontrol

Phage engineering plus fit-for-purpose manufacturing.

We offer custom bacteriophage design—high-throughput display, host-range editing, and resistance mapping—paired with industrial process development for therapeutic or biocontrol applications. The practical challenges are well known: achieving high titer while minimizing host-cell debris, endotoxin (if Gram-negative hosts), and aggregation; validating plaque assays and potency; and building filtration/chromatography trains that preserve phage infectivity. We solve these with gentle clarification, optimized DNase/RNase steps, and polishing that supports your target purity without compromising activity.

Regulatory expectations vary by use case (drug vs. food/Ag biocontrol). We map your dossier strategy early and build data accordingly—method validations, impurity clearance rationales, stability indicating assays. On the commercial side, we plan strain banks and seed trains that keep master stocks stable across campaigns. The short version: engineered elegance, industrially executed.

Diagnostics & Life Science Tools

Reproducibility as a product feature.

Diagnostic enzymes (polymerases, reverse transcriptases, nicking endonucleases) and antigens demand lot-to-lot consistency, not just high purity. We build assays that quantify the function you actually sell (e.g., amplification efficiency, fidelity, or specific activity), then back-propagate those metrics into upstream and downstream knobs. Our QA plan instrument-tests release lots as an extension of your customer’s workflow. The payoff is fewer customer complaints, cleaner tech-support overhead, and better gross margin because your specs are engineered for manufacturability, not just wishful thinking.

Commercial teams lean on our cost dashboards to forecast resin usage, buffer makeup, and cold-chain logistics at scale. With Aquaterra, you don’t just meet spec—you understand it.

Agriculture & Ag-Biologicals

From petri dish promise to field-scale reliability.

We help Ag-bio companies scale enzymes, microbial consortia, and phage/biocontrol agents that survive real-world variability: temperature swings, UV exposure, soil chemistries, and shelf life. We stabilize actives with carrier selection and microencapsulation, test thermal and humidity profiles that mirror field storage, and validate potency in conditions that regulators expect. Our documentation supports country-specific registrations and quality audits, while our logistics team builds a shipping plan that meets seasonal demand spikes without expediting panic.

Economically, we design batch sizes and changeovers to your selling season. You get inventory when it matters, not capital trapped in a warehouse. Farmers see results; regulators see rigor; you see repeat sales.

Veterinary Biologics & Health

Human-grade discipline for animal health.

Veterinary markets require speed, cost control, and credible quality. We manufacture recombinant proteins, vaccines, enzymes, and phage solutions for companion and production animals with processes that trace their lineage to human GMP. That means validated cleaning, aseptic fill-finish, and release testing aligned to the target species. We help sponsors navigate VICH considerations and align global submissions, so products move across borders cleanly.

Commercially, we model price points that work in veterinary channels and choose unit operations that protect margin—robust, not exotic. The result is an animal-health product line with human-grade discipline and veterinary-grade agility.

Biomaterials & Biopolymers

Structure, purity, and performance—engineered together.

Biopolymers and bio-based materials succeed when molecular weight distribution, polydispersity, and residuals are controlled. We pair biocatalysis or fermentation with downstream that hits target performance: filtration trains that eliminate fines; fractionation that tailors viscosity; drying that preserves functionality. We collaborate with your process engineers on rheology models and end-use trials so the lab data maps to manufacturing realities.

Because we’re sustainability-forward, we quantify the carbon profile and energy intensity of each pathway. That data supports your customers’ ESG reporting and helps you win RFPs where green performance is a differentiator, not window dressing.

Environmental & Bioremediation

Enzymes and microbes that clean without compromise.

We develop enzymes and microbial systems for waste valorization, pollutant degradation, and circular bioprocesses. Success here is about stability and delivery: keeping catalysts active in harsh media, avoiding inhibitory by-products, and designing deployment formats (immobilized enzymes, encapsulated microbes) that work in the field. We instrument pilots to capture before/after analytics, then fold those into regulatory submissions and customer economics.

Our cost models compare bioremediation to incumbent chemistries honestly—CAPEX/OPEX tradeoffs, consumable lifetimes, and service models that de-risk adoption. It’s impact you can audit.

Nutritionals, Probiotics & Functional Ingredients

From credible CFU to consumer trust.

For probiotics, postbiotics, and functional peptides, we build stability into the product you sell. That means validated CFU at end of shelf life, controlled water activity, and packaging that survives distribution. For peptides and nutraceuticals, we align purity with safety limits and substantiate label claims with assays that stand up to retailer scrutiny. We can supply bulk frozen, spray-dried powders, and finished formats, with change control that keeps SKUs synchronized across markets.

Commercial teams appreciate our transparency: sensory and rheology panels when they matter, realistic lead times, and scale plans that don’t collapse during promo spikes. Your growth curve stays smooth because your supply is engineered to be steady.

Synthetic Biology Platforms & Tooling

Design → Data → Decision, embedded in manufacturing.

SynBio companies need a manufacturing partner that behaves like an extension of R&D. We run high-throughput strain and media DOEs, feed rate optimizations, and secretion screens; instrument experiments with online analytics; and return structured data through our digital twin so your ML models learn from true process signals. We maintain an IP firewall in a SOC-2-certified environment; your algorithms train on your data, not anybody else’s.

From a business perspective, we move fast without shortcuts: parallel upstream/downstream teams compress timelines by 20–30%, and we stage-gate decisions with COGS visibility so you can pivot early, not late. Tech transfer—out of Aquaterra or into a partner’s plant—comes with a complete package: bill of materials, process descriptions, batch records, deviations, and raw data. It’s how we turn brilliant designs into industrial assets.

Cosmetics & Personal Care

Bioactives that meet performance and purity expectations.

Collagen-like peptides, enzymes, and fermentation-derived actives for skincare succeed when they deliver measurable effects and pass safety and purity screens. We co-design processes to preserve bioactivity through formulation (pH, chelators, preservatives) and build traceability and claims-support data your marketing team can use responsibly. For global brands, we align documentation to regional requirements and harmonize specs to reduce SKU proliferation. Beauty with backbone.

Academic, Government & Non-Profit Programs

Translational speed, grant-ready rigor.

We support translational researchers with the same discipline we bring to commercial sponsors—clear SOWs, realistic Gantt charts, and data packages that satisfy grant reviewers and tech-transfer offices. When a program needs to jump from curiosity-driven to validation-ready, our teams add the manufacturing backbone: QC methods, comparability planning, and scalable unit operations. You keep your science; we make it manufacturable.

How We Partner Across Sectors

One integrated pipeline. No hand-offs. No data gaps.

• Upstream Processing: Batch, fed-batch, and continuous fermentation; host selection tailored to product class; oxygen transfer and heat removal modeled before scale-up.
• Downstream Processing: Clarification/centrifugation, TFF, high-pressure homogenization, and multi-step chromatography; food-grade vs. pharma-grade segregation; spray-drying & lyophilization built for function, not just dryness.
• Phage Engineering: High-throughput display, host-range editing, therapeutic and biocontrol process development.
• Analytical & QA: UHPLC, LC-MS/MS, qPCR, endotoxin, rheology, sensory profiling; full LIMS traceability, deviation dashboards, and release packages that travel well.
• Formulation & Fill/Finish: Aseptic vials, bulk frozen bags, functional powders, and high-moisture texturates; cold-chain validation and ship-to-door reliability.
• Regulatory & Tech-Transfer: GRAS/Novel Food dossiers, IND/IMPD packages, EU BPR enzyme filings; seamless scale-out to partners in NA, EU, APAC.

Every project runs inside an open-architecture collaboration model: your secure digital twin grants live process visibility; our IP firewall keeps your secrets yours. We embed sustainability—life-cycle accounting and renewable power—so your product’s impact is measurable and defensible. And because we surface costs early (raw materials, energy, labor, depreciation), you see COGS trajectories before scale dollars are spent.

Why Sponsors Choose Aquaterra

Speed without shortcuts. Quality without drama.

Our clients are venture-backed founders, public-company leaders, and translational scientists who need the same thing: a partner that makes manufacturing a solved problem. We compress timelines with concurrent upstream/downstream work; we design processes that scale without reinvention; and we write dossiers that move cleanly through review. You’ll never wonder where your batch or your budget stands—our dashboards show it live.

Sustainability matters because reality matters. We power our site with renewable PPAs that offset ~90% of electricity. We choose consumables and utilities with lifecycle impact in mind and quantify outcomes so you can include them in your own reporting. Good biology and good stewardship are not in tension; they’re how modern manufacturing earns trust.

Representative Use Cases

• A cytokine for clinical supply: E. coli expression, inclusion-body refold, 3-step polishing, aseptic vialing; IND-ready in months with release consistency across pilot campaigns.
• Animal-free casein: High-titer fermentation, gentle downstream that preserves functionality, spray-drying tuned for solubility and mouthfeel; GRAS dossier and commercial tolling pathway defined upfront.
• Phage biocontrol: Engineered host range, clarified and polished at scale with infectivity preserved; region-specific regulatory submissions and seed-stock strategy for seasonal campaigns.
• Industrial redox enzyme: Continuous fermentation with PAT-guided control, immobilized catalyst downstream, and resin lifetime modeling that cuts COGS at commercial volumes.

These are not outliers; they’re how we work.

Let’s Build What’s Next

Whether you’re bringing a recombinant therapeutic to clinic, scaling a precision-fermented protein to grocery-store shelves, or deploying biocontrol in the field, Aquaterra Biotech turns complexity into certainty. One contract. One digital thread. One accountable partner from DNA design to global shipment.

Visit Montréal to tour our facility and see our latest lab innovations.
Email: info@aquaterrabiotech.com