Mathew Mitchell
Six Questions for Mathew Mitchell, CTO and Co-Founder of Organicin Scientific
Mathew is a deep student of medical biology, having obtained a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at University of Massachusetts, an MS in Physiology and Biophysics at Georgetown U., and currently pursuing his Medical Doctorate at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The core concepts for this venture originated in his BS studies, from which he incorporated Organicin, and he has been doggedly pursuing their refinement and commercialization for over five years, finally resulting in a non-equity investment of $120,000 as a result of being selected for Techstars Farm to Fork Class of 2022.
1. What problem is Organicin solving and how?
We are addressing the pressing issue of antibiotic resistance, which is projected to surpass cancer as a leading cause of human death and is also a rapidly expanding threat to global agriculture that has excessively deployed pesticides for decades. Our initial development and go-to-market is addressing a disease of shrimp which has decimated Asian shrimp markets, resulting in annual losses of $7 billion and some years killing up to 25% of the entire crop. This also impacts “northern” markets as the US and EU import over 90% of all their shrimp from these increasingly infected locales. Our approach utilizes a special class of antimicrobial proteins called bacteriocins, which are naturally produced by bacteria. These can be bioengineered to offer a highly targeted narrowcast approach and can effectively neutralize disease while minimizing the risk of resistance.
2. What is your background that led you to founding Organicin?
Well, people say most entrepreneurship is personal. In my case, while in high school, my father suffered an exceedingly rare and life-threatening form of cancer requiring a highly invasive surgical procedure. The complicated procedure was completely successful, only for him to then suffer a severe setback from multiple superinfections. For an agonizingly long time, cycling through myriad medications, I felt deep helplessness and hopelessness; we could not even visit him due to hazmat quarantine, as many others experienced during Covid. Finally, one antibiotic worked and his life was saved. This traumatic experience left an indelible mark on me, highlighting the grave danger posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. My father had triumphed over one of the rarest and deadliest cancers, only to be brought to the brink by a few antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
This personal ordeal, coupled with my exposure to the healthcare system, ignited my passion for medicine. While searching for research opportunities as an undergraduate student, I serendipitously found the laboratory of Dr. Margaret Riley, which was dedicated to combating antibiotic resistance and treating diseases using bacteriocins. I was astounded to witness bacteriocins we had discovered in the lab effectively inhibiting notable hospital-associated multidrug resistant bacteria, the very same pathogens that had plagued my father. I was convinced of both the technology’s potential and the mission it represented. Just a year or two ago, Dr. Riley won Amherst’s Mahoney Life Sciences Prize for her bacteriocin research.
And I could not be just academic. I wanted to get this out in the field to help people like my father, so in collaboration with colleagues from the lab, I co-founded Organicin with the goal of commercializing these bacteriocins and putting an end to the threat of antibiotic resistance. This has remained my focus through my MS and MD studies.
3. What is unique about your technology and what is its validation status?
First, there are the bacteriocins themselves, which offer a level of precision that significantly mitigates the risk of contributing to antimicrobial resistance and are far more reliable than bacteriophage viruses prone to mutations. Bacteriocins are stable proteins, guaranteeing a consistent product and also making them biodegradable, breaking down into amino acids. They exhibit low toxicity and have been widely employed as natural food preservatives in nearly 50 countries, including the USA.
Second, Organicin is leveraging machine learning and AI to accelerate our discovery of novel bacteriocins. We are using the same “Large Language Model” technology that is widely reported about writing poems and essays in English, Spanish or Chinese. Well, amino acid sequences are the “language of proteins” and bacteriocins you could consider a certain “dialect” of the “protein language”. We combine that “dialect” learning with 3D mapping, which leverages another form of AI learning that allows us to cluster protein features. So, while there are uses of known bacteriocins, and others use AI/ML for other therapeutic modalities, no other company has developed the comprehensive bacteriocin discovery engine that we have for the prevention and treatment of bacterial diseases in plants, animals and humans. We are leveraging this proprietary AI to revolutionize the use of bacteriocins, expanding their historical role in food preservation to the arena of disease prevention and treatment. In fact, one of our early investors called us “the Moderna of antibiotics”.
To date, our accomplishments include the creation of a bacteriocin-based shrimp feed additive designed to combat AHPND, a disease that has had a profound impact on the shrimp industry, resulting in annual economic losses of $7 billion. In two trials, our bacteriocin-based shrimp feed additive demonstrated statistically significant enhancements in shrimp survival rates, with increases of up to 165%. This success validates our core technology, both in our discovery capabilities and in the development of effective products.
4. What are your Go-To-Market ideas and traction received so far?
Right now we are focused on the Asian shrimp market to enable a real proof-of-concept. So far we have run tests in the USA which showed at the lowest dose a 93% survival rate for treated shrimp compared to a 35% survival rate among infected shrimp, which could boost farmers yields by 3x. We have demonstrated that there is no long term bioaccumulation, so it is safe for humans to consume treated shrimp. And we have the interest and attention of the SE Asian shrimp market.
5. What is next?
Right now, we are focused on a 2026 launch of the shrimp product. We are working with prominent shrimp feed companies to expand their product offerings and enhance their value proposition with our bacteriocin-based feed additive. That will get us some initial revenue and scale-up. We have a couple of other partners that we are planning for later stage scale-out. And then we plan on expanding into other domains, such as US livestock and human health. One of the primary advantages of our discovery platform is its ability to expedite the process of both discovery and development. Once proven, just as mRNA is being applied now to an array of virus ailments, Organicin is committed to constructing a robust bacteriocin pipeline aimed at addressing additional agricultural diseases, e.g. in poultry and swine. Simultaneously, we will initiate the generation of preliminary data in the realm of human health diseases, both infectious and noninfectious via microbiome modulation. These early insights will serve as a foundation for further development in collaboration with partners or through grant funding opportunities.
6. Tell us about your experience with XTC and the WFF?
Working with XTC has been a remarkable journey, and participating in WFF was a game-changing opportunity. The XTC team went above and beyond in their support, providing invaluable coaching that undeniably elevated my presentation at WFF. This preparation played a significant role in the success I achieved at the event.
Beyond the structural support offered by XTC, I had the privilege of connecting with several inspiring startup founders and dedicated XTC team members who shared my vision for driving positive change through innovation. Despite my first-time visit to Europe and my initial unfamiliarity with the people I would be spending the week with, the XTC team and fellow founders made me feel right at home.
WFF, as a conference, exceeded my expectations. It was a platform where I felt a deep sense of pride in participating, as it brought together individuals from diverse corners of the world who shared a common passion for sustainable, healthy and delectable food. As I was meeting everybody I just felt like “these are my people!” WFF provided me with a global stage, they have brought me back to be a panelist at the 2024 WFF and now a speaker at the 2025 UN Science, Technology and Innovation Forum in New York City, so it’s all really more than I really could have expected.
