How licensing works
A structured two-stage framework: a 90-day evaluation option pre-funds custom CRO synthesis for testing on your feedstocks, converting to a definitive commercial license with 100% of the option fee credited.
Two stages: evaluation option, then commercial license
Validate candidate performance on proprietary feedstocks before licensing. DarkBiome holds no physical stock of any candidate; option fees fund custom, certified CRO synthesis of purified biocatalyst to order.
Stage 1: 90-day evaluation option
Partners execute an evaluation agreement and sponsor custom CRO synthesis under a bilateral Delaware CDA/MTA. The evaluation fee is 100% credited against the upfront license fee when the definitive commercial license is executed.
- ✓ Blinded material transfer: 50 mg to 250 mg of purified biocatalyst, synthesized to order under the option — not drawn from a stock.
- ✓ Option fee credit: 100% credited against the upfront license fee on option exercise.
- ✓ Anti-reverse-engineering CDA: The partner covenants not to sequence, synthesize de novo, or fragment the enzyme by mass spectrometry.
- ✓ Go/no-go criteria: Objective analytical thresholds for catalytic conversion and stability on target feedstocks.
Definitive commercial license
Once activity on the partner's feedstock is confirmed, the partner exercises the option and converts it into a definitive worldwide commercial license, exclusive in its field of use and governed by Delaware law.
- ✓ Upfront technology transfer: $500,000 – $750,000 cash on license execution.
- ✓ Development milestones: $1.25M – $2.0M, tied to pilot demonstration and regulatory clearance.
- ✓ Running royalties on net sales: 4.0% – 5.0% (or volumetric equivalent: $20/ton rPET, $0.15/1,000 gal).
- ✓ Sublicensing: 20% of non-royalty sublicensing income (NRSI).
Estimate your terms
Pick an asset, a sample size, and your expected revenue to see indicative option and license terms.
- Purified sample 50 mg synthesized to order, under Delaware CDA/MTA
- Credit on conversion to Stage 2 100% credited against Stage 2 upfront
- Stage 2 upfront (tech transfer) $750,000
- Pilot & regulatory milestones $1.25M – $2.0M
- Royalty on net sales 4.0% – 5.0%
- Estimated annual royalty $2,250,000 / yr
- Non-royalty sublicensing income 20% NRSI
Development stage and patent status
Two separate facts, never one column. The development stage says where the molecule is. The patent status says what has been filed: U.S. provisional applications cover the ice-nucleation leads, with additional specifications queued.
The development-stage ladder
A stage describes the molecule, not the paperwork and not the offer. Every lead below carries exactly one.
- In Silico Validated
- Metagenomic candidate screened, full 3D structure predicted, and stability verified via explicit-solvent molecular dynamics.
- CRO Synthesis Queued
- Codon-optimized gene design completed and expression vector queued for heterologous synthesis with partner CROs.
- USPTO Patent Filed
- Priority patent application filed with the USPTO covering novel sequence compositions and functional uses.