The Mera Growth Module (MGM) - Our Platform Technology

Mera Growth Modules: Photobioreactors are a brand new platform technology. Fermentation technology is used to commercialize tens of thousands of microbe species that do not require light to grow. Photobioreactor technology will permit Mera Pharmaceuticals to exploit tens of thousands of photosynthetic species. The combination of control and large scale is the key to success, and Mera has found a way to achieve it.  The scale of our photobioreactor - the "Mera Growth Module" (MGM) - is comparable to that of industrial fermenters.

Our initial growth module had a capacity of a few thousand liters.  We more than doubled its size successfully in 1997. We successfully increased capacity by a factor of 5 in 1998. Mera Growth Modules are now the largest scale photobioreactors in existence. We believe the MGM is the foundation of a new, large industry that uses our commercial scale photobioreactors to develop valuable products from the untapped resource of microalgae.

The Mera Growth Module, MGM, is a closed, computer controlled, large-scale photobioreactor. It incorporates proprietary methods for controlling pH, temperature and nutrient levels to optimize growth rates. It also rests on a broad patent for the use of turbulence that provides a consistent mixing of the nutrient medium and eliminates the shading effect that had previously limited the scale of closed photobioreactors.

Laboratory-scale photobioreactors have been used to grow thousands of species successfully at small scale, since a favorable environment can be maintained, often manually.  The value of the MGM is that it allows for complete control over all growth parameters, but at a scale that is thousands of times larger than a standard laboratory photobioreactor.  It also permits this control to be achieved with computerized controls, which maximizes effectiveness and minimizes cost.

The MGM permits continuous growth and harvesting of microalgae over a number of months. This minimizes down time for the system, which contributes to its efficiency.   We have successfully cultivated many microalgal species in the MGM that have never been produced in open pond systems. The Mera Growth Module opens the door to commercial exploitation of thousands of species of microalgae.

Mera has chosen AstaFactorÆ, its astaxanthin nutritional supplement, as its first commercial product.  Astaxanthin is known to have a number of beneficial effects, yet it is extremely difficult to produce using standard commercial methods. As a result, it has a very high value (greater than $70,000 per kilogram at retail). That high value is supported by the numerous desirable properties of astaxanthin as a nutritional supplement.