Smithfield Foods announces new venture

Smithfield Foods Inc. announced a new initiative Wednesday, Smithfield Bioscience, that will leverage byproducts from the meat production process. The company said the byproducts would be used in the development of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and medical device solutions.

The new venture will support a range of biotechnology solutions in areas of human therapeutics, tissue fabrication and regenerative medicine.

Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods, said in a statement that the new initiative reflects the company’s innovative values “by finding new uses for byproducts that benefit the health and well-being of others.”

Currently, Smithfield sells byproducts to pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies who use these materials to develop drugs that treat issues ranging from indigestion to hypothyroidism and deep vein thrombosis. Smithfield Bioscience siad it would expand upon these efforts by exploring new methods and technologies for addressing concerns such as tissue regeneration and the availability of viable human organs for transplantation.

One of the venture's first projects is participation in the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), a public-private U.S. manufacturing initiative that brings together 100 organizations across academia, advanced robotics and pharmaceutical to develop next-generation technologies and manufacturing processes for cells, tissue and organ development.

With funding from the Department of Defense, the consortium is initially focused on technologies that would enable the repair and replacement of the human tissue of soldiers injured in combat. Smithfield Bioscience also is working with Harvard Medical School and Columbia University on the research and development of immunology therapies.

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer.