Medford, MA — Sunflower Therapeutics has completed the first U.S. delivery and installation of its Daisy Petal™ Perfusion Bioreactor System at the BioBuilder Learning Lab in Allston, marking a major milestone in the company’s product rollout. The installation supports educational efforts to prepare students and workers for careers in the expanding biotechnology sector.
BioBuilder, a nonprofit that promotes innovative STEM education, will use the Daisy Petal system to train local high school students, teachers, and professionals in biomanufacturing. The system was funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and additional private donors.
“The bioeconomy is growing, and we need to be ready to manufacture our own biomolecules with cutting-edge protein manufacturing solutions,” said Dr. Kerry R. Love, Founder and CEO of Sunflower Therapeutics. “The Daisy Petal is simple and intuitive enough for a high school student to use, but robust enough to meet the demands of GMP manufacturing.”
Designed for ease of use, the Daisy Petal™ features a single-use, stirred tank reactor and an in-vessel perfusion device. This setup enables increased productivity and efficiency—delivering space-time yields five to ten times greater than traditional fed-batch systems. It supports the production of a wide range of biologically derived products, from medicines and vaccines to food ingredients and industrial enzymes.
Dr. Natalie Kuldell, founder and executive director of BioBuilder, emphasized the impact the installation will have on students: “Having the Sunflower fermenter in our Allston Learning Lab ensures that local high school students can engage with the same tools and techniques used in industry. We’re not just teaching science—we’re opening doors to meaningful careers.”
The installation underscores the importance of hands-on training in biotechnology and the growing need for a skilled workforce to support the U.S. bioeconomy.
