New York City Biotech Startups Neion Bio and Barnwell Bio Partner to Advance Biomanufacturing and Biosecurity

The collaboration brings together Neion Bio's egg-based biologics manufacturing platform and Barnwell Bio's metagenomic biosurveillance capabilities, while highlighting the growing New York City life sciences ecosystem

NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neion Bio, a biotechnology company revolutionizing the production of biologic medicines, and Barnwell Bio, an animal health intelligence company, today announced a strategic collaboration under which Barnwell will provide biosurveillance to Neion to support proactive flock health and biosecurity across its avian operations.

The collaboration brings together two New York City biotechnology companies that are applying frontier technologies to chicken biology in very different but complementary ways. Neion Bio uses precision genetic engineering to turn chicken eggs into highly efficient factories for recombinant proteins, including monoclonal antibodies, enzymes, fusion proteins and other complex biologics. Barnwell Bio takes a population-level approach to flock health: rather than testing individual birds for specific pathogens, the company analyzes easily attainable environmental samples to capture an entire flock's microbial ecosystem, translating hundreds of thousands of data points into a microbiome fingerprint unique to each facility. That fingerprint can flag a pathogen spike ahead of other methods, shifting flock health management from reactive to proactive.

Under the agreement, Neion will incorporate Barnwell’s technology into its avian operations to gain additional longitudinal visibility into the health and microbial environment of its flocks as Neion scales its Raptor™ manufacturing platform.

“We are transforming the egg into a factory for recombinant proteins, which means the health and welfare of the chicken producing it is an essential part of our platform,” said Dimi Kellari, cofounder and CEO of Neion Bio. “As we rethink biologics manufacturing from the ground up, we also have an opportunity to rethink how we monitor and manage the biological systems behind it. Barnwell has developed a powerful way of understanding what is happening across a flock over time, and we believe this additional data layer will become increasingly valuable as we scale and commercialize our platform.”

Neion’s Raptor platform uses frontier genetic engineering to program hens to express target recombinant proteins directly in their eggs. The approach replaces much of the capital-intensive infrastructure traditionally associated with biologics manufacturing with a biological system optimized by evolution to produce and stabilize large quantities of complex proteins. These capabilities are expected to transform biologics production over time and increase both innovation velocity and supply chain resiliency throughout the biotech industry.

Neion emerged from stealth in March 2026 with its first commercial agreement with a major pharmaceutical company for the development and supply of multiple biosimilars. In June of this year, the company raised an oversubscribed $23 million Series A financing to advance the Raptor platform and expand its pipeline across biosimilars, innovative medicines, critical reagents and animal health.

Barnwell Bio approaches poultry biology from another direction. Founded by a team that helped build the United States COVID-19 wastewater monitoring infrastructure, the company applies the same principle of population-level biosurveillance to animal health.

“We are building the next generation data platform to support animal health and wellness,” said Michael Rhys, cofounder and CEO of Barnwell Bio. “Neion is building something genuinely new in biologics manufacturing, and we are excited to bring our biosurveillance capabilities into that system. Building sophisticated flock health monitoring into Neion’s operations from an early stage reflects the kind of forward-thinking approach that can help transform an industry.”

Barnwell Bio announced $6 million in oversubscribed seed financing in January 2026 to expand its biosurveillance platform and its growing poultry health dataset. Its technology is currently being used in commercial poultry operations across the country to help producers and veterinarians better understand pathogen dynamics, evaluate health interventions and identify emerging changes in flock health before they become larger operational problems. While poultry is Barnwell's initial focus, the underlying platform is built to extend across livestock more broadly, including swine, dairy and aquaculture, supporting the global animal health market.

The companies believe the collaboration reflects the growing breadth of New York City’s life sciences industry, extending well beyond traditional therapeutics and diagnostics into new approaches that are reimagining how biology can be used to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges.

About Neion Bio

Neion Bio is pioneering a new era in biomanufacturing, using frontier genetic engineering to harness nature’s most prolific molecular factory – the egg – to produce biological medicines with unprecedented efficiency, scalability, and environmental sustainability. Founded in 2024, Neion aims to dramatically lower the cost of biologics manufacturing to spur biotech innovation and democratize global access to life-changing therapies. Neion’s Raptor™ platform enables localized, resilient domestic manufacturing of critical medicines, strengthening national security while unlocking significant commercial opportunities. Led by a multidisciplinary team of scientists and industry veterans with deep expertise in genetic engineering, biologics manufacturing, and commercialization, Neion is building a platform designed to reset the boundaries of what is possible in biomanufacturing. The company aims to become the partner of choice for upstream biologics manufacturing and deliver transformational advantages for the biotech industry and patients worldwide, https://www.neionbio.com.

About Barnwell Bio

Barnwell Bio is an animal health intelligence company bridging the gap between advanced biosurveillance and commercial livestock production. Founded by experts who helped scale the U.S. national COVID-19 wastewater monitoring infrastructure, Barnwell Bio utilizes metagenomic sequencing and microbiome data to provide producers and animal health companies with an early-warning system for disease. Headquartered in New York, the company is dedicated to making animal protein production more predictable, profitable, and sustainable. For more information, https://www.barnwellbio.com.

Contacts:

Neion Bio Contacts; info@neionbio.com

Barnwell Bio Contacts; hello@barnwellbio.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at 

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/637753dd-93d5-41c9-bbd4-8e76034fdc9c

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Barnwell Bio Founders

Dr. Jake Byrnes (Chief Scientific Officer), Casey McGinley (Chief Operating Officer), and Michael Rhys (Chief Executive Officer)

The Egg

Microsurgery performed on a chicken egg.

Neion Bio Founders

Cofounders of Neion Bio - Dr.. Sam Levin and Dimi Kellari