Ark2 Labs provides a marine bioprospecting platform that combines multi‑omic sequencing, bioinformatics, and blockchain tracking to build a searchable library of biosynthetic gene clusters linked to environmental data. The service enables pharmaceutical and biotech firms to discover compliant, novel natural product candidates while ensuring benefit‑sharing with coastal communities under the Nagoya Protocol.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Pharmaceutical discovery of novel bioactive compounds is limited by reliance on terrestrial sources and fragmented, non‑transparent marine sampling processes that often lack compliance with international benefit‑sharing regulations.
Solution
Ark2 Labs applies contextualized multi‑omic analysis to marine samples, generating a large, annotated library of biosynthetic gene clusters linked to environmental data. Their end‑to‑end workflow combines next‑generation sequencing, advanced bioinformatics, and blockchain‑based tracking to ensure Nagoya Protocol compliance and transparent benefit‑sharing with host countries and coastal communities. By integrating these data streams, the platform accelerates the identification of scalable natural product candidates for drug development across multiple therapeutic areas. Partnerships with pharmaceutical firms and conservation organizations enable the translation of marine genetic discoveries into high‑value biotech applications while supporting local economies and marine protection efforts.
Target Audience
Primary customers are pharmaceutical and biotech companies seeking new natural product leads, as well as research institutions and conservation partners requiring compliant marine bioprospecting data.
Features
- Contextualized multi‑omic sequencing of marine organisms, capturing genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics alongside environmental metadata
- Proprietary bioinformatics pipeline that assembles and annotates biosynthetic gene clusters to predict novel natural product structures
- Blockchain ledger that records sample provenance, access‑and‑benefit‑sharing agreements, and compliance with the Nagoya Protocol
- Curated library targeting 1 million gene‑cluster entries, providing searchable, AI‑enhanced candidate discovery for pharma partners
- Collaborative framework linking governments, coastal communities, and research institutions to facilitate equitable revenue sharing and conservation funding
- Scalable workflow from remote ocean expeditions to cloud‑based analytics, enabling rapid progression from discovery to pre‑clinical validation