How TeOra and one leader’s vision could save millions of farmers from ruin

Dr Rishita Changede has seen firsthand the devastating cycle of crop failures and financial ruin affecting farmers across the region. “If a farmer loses his crop two or three times, he loses access to credit and cannot farm,” says the founder and chief executive officer of TeOra, a synthetic biology startup. “This takes away his livelihood, driving debt-ridden farmers to extreme measures.”

The scale of the problem is immense. In Singapore alone, as Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat noted, 70 to 100 per cent of fish can be lost to common diseases. With tens of millions employed in aquaculture across Asia, the human cost of these losses is significant.

For Dr Changede, witnessing the disparity between the risks shouldered by farmers and the benefits reaped by society was a defining moment. “Seeing how these farmers take on substantial risks to provide for society while struggling with issues such as disease and environmental pressures was very moving,” she reflects. This stark reality motivated her to develop innovative biotech solutions to enhance the resilience and sustainability of food production systems.

TeOra was established against this backdrop of agricultural vulnerability and human suffering. The biotech startup aims to revolutionise food security and support the unsung heroes of our food supply chain.

Pioneering biotech solutions

One of 2023 The Liveability Challenge winners by Temasek Foundation, TeOra seeks to develop sustainable, non-chemical alternatives that improve food production efficiency without compromising health or the environment.

The scope of the problem TeOra hopes to address is considerable. Dr Changede points out that traditional solutions like antibiotics are becoming less effective and contribute to serious health issues. “We needed a new approach,” she emphasises, reiterating the substantial food production losses in aquaculture.

What distinguishes TeOra in the crowded biotech landscape is its unique interdisciplinary approach. “We leverage advancements in bioinformatics, synthetic biology, precision fermentation, and material science to create customised solutions for the agricultural and aquaculture sectors.”

The company's innovative platform allows for the rapid development of biologics tailored to specific diseases. “It enables us to respond to emerging threats quickly, vital for maintaining food security in a fast-changing world,” Dr Changede notes. She compares this ability to adapt swiftly to new challenges with the swift vaccine development during the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the platform's potential impact on global food security.

Soldiering on

TeOra's journey has not been without challenges. Developing its proprietary biofactories and precision fermentation-based ingredients required years of effort from a multidisciplinary team with over 100 years of combined experience in human pharmaceuticals. Dr Changede said, “One of our biggest hurdles was adapting the technology to work in varied and often harsh agricultural settings.”

A key breakthrough came with the development of encapsulation methods, which allowed solutions to be transported without degradation, even in challenging environments. “Unlike Covid vaccines requiring minus 80 deg C transportation, our solutions are designed to be stable in much more challenging conditions,” Dr Changede states. This innovation ensures that TeOra's products are accessible to farmers in remote areas where they are needed most.

The impact of TeOra's work is already evident. Early adopters in aquaculture settings have reported significant improvements in animal health and productivity and reduced reliance on harmful chemicals. One unexpected application demonstrated the platform's versatility: “A customer used a biologic designed for one species to protect another from a related pathogen,” Dr Changede shares.

“The multi-peptide design proved effective even in this unexpected application, showing our platform's adaptability.”

Collaboration has been key to TeOra's progress, although not without hurdles. “Aligning the longer timelines of academic research with the fast-paced needs of biotech commercialisation can be difficult,” admits the biotech innovator. “Navigating bureaucratic processes and regulatory requirements in government partnerships is complex and time-consuming.”

Perhaps the most challenging aspect has been building trust with farmers. “Farmers have been burnt by products that didn't work in the past, so they are sceptical about new solutions. Patiently understanding and addressing their problems is key to gaining their trust.”

TeOra’s vision for global leadership

Still, optimism reigns. Within the next decade, Dr Changede foresees TeOra emerging as a global leader in sustainable food production technologies. “We're uniquely positioned to have a large impact by bringing timely solutions to the developing world in Asia and the global south, where over 70 per cent of the world's population resides,” she asserts, “because the developed or Western world does not extensively address these problems.”

TeOra's ambitions are more than technological advancements. The company aspires to be a catalytic force in the global food production landscape. “We are working to solidify our position as a leading biotech innovator originating from Asia,” says Dr Changede, elaborating: “By addressing local and global challenges, we will show how innovative technologies developed in Asia can solve pressing issues worldwide, setting an example for other regions.”

Looking back on the four years since TeOra was launched, she has significantly transitioned from her academic career to the unpredictable world of startups, where unicorns can quickly become zombies. Founding TeOra was a significant decision. The move, clearly, was not merely a career choice but a response to a profound need she had encountered: the plight of farmers grappling with disastrous losses due to disease and environmental pressures. 

As a former researcher at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the National University of Singapore, she had to shift her focus dramatically. “Before TeOra, my intellectual efforts were primarily dedicated to human pharmaceuticals and the latest advances in interdisciplinary sciences,” she explains. “However, my direct experiences with agricultural losses and farmer suicides changed my perspective. The urgency and scale of these issues highlighted the need to apply my expertise to practical challenges in agriculture and aquaculture.”

The move broadened her intellectual and emotional priorities. “When establishing TeOra, the goal was not only to leverage high-impact academic research but also to integrate it with a solid business vision,” Dr Changede says. “The insight was clear: Impactful solutions require a strong business foundation to be effective and scalable.”

As the company continues to grow and adapt to climate change, resource constraints and new diseases, she brings up a key lesson: to be committed to solving the problem, not just the technology. “By prioritising the problem, you ensure that the innovations you develop are effective and relevant rather than limited by a particular technological approach. This strategy ensures that our innovations remain practical and impactful in tackling the complex challenges of global food security.”