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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 M A R C H 9 , 2 0 2 6 F O C U S L I F E S C I E N C E S / I N N OVAT I O N 3,000 undergraduates while financing startup laboratories for more than 50 early-career faculty. Producing vaccines for aquatic species Kennebec River Biosciences, based in Richmond, will use its $800,000 MTI grant to renovate and equip a new lab in a 10,000-square-foot building the com- pany owns in Brunswick Landing. e 30-year-old firm is a testing and diagnostic lab that manufactures veterinary vaccines and probiotics to treat aquatic species grown in fish farms and hatcheries. In Maine, the company works with all commercial aquaculture, state and tribal entities growing aquatic species. e new plant will quadruple capacity, improve biosecurity and pro- cessing and create five to 10 new jobs, according to CEO Bill Keleher. Keleher says 60% of the seafood we consume is cultured, 85% to 90% of which is imported. "We want to help fish farmers in the U.S. expand production," he says. Keleher expects the new lab to be operational in late 2027. Creating skincare products from the ocean Marin Skincare won a $312,000 grant to double its plant in Riverside Industrial Park in Portland. e startup uses a byproduct of lobster processing to create products that treat eczema and other skin conditions. e firm has seen exponential growth since its inception in 2020, according to co-founder Patrick Breeding. Expansion has gotten underway to accommodate a new 6,100-square- foot lobster glycoprotein purification lab needed to scale the business. Breeding explains that lobster glycoprotein is, "an almost all-in immune system, that helps lobsters to regenerate limbs, fight off disease, heal wounds and transport oxygen, and it's a beautiful opalescent dark blue." When applied to human skin, the substance increases collagen synthesis, speeds up regeneration of the dermal layer, reduces inflammation, hydrates, soothes and repairs, he notes. e protein is usually washed down the drain at lobster processing facilities. Marin has an exclusive contract with Portland-based Luke's Lobster. "ere's so much of it that there's no issue in supply limiting our growth," Breeding says. He already sees the need for additional space beyond the current expansion. "We will likely need to loop more space in as well in the near future as we continue to grow our warehouse, mar- keting and operation teams," he says. Marin has pledged matching funds for the MTI grant of $652,000, but Breeding says he expects to exceed that number. e company has received over $250K in grant funding since it started, from not only MTI, but the Libra Future Fund, Greenlight Maine, Maine Sea Grant, and the state Department of Economic and Community Development. Kelp skincare Atlantic BlueBio Corp. is a startup also turning some of Maine's abun- dant marine resources into ingredients for skincare products. In 2021, Krista Rosen and Inga Potter founded Cold Current Kelp, a Kittery-based kelp farm and skin- care company. ey plan to create a small-scale pilot biorefinery to extract ingredients from seaweed to be sold to other manufacturers, through Atlantic BlueBio. e company currently shares Cold Current Kelp's facility off Route 236 in Kittery but plans to move into its own space later this year and to have the bio- refinery operational in mid-2027. To date Atlantic BlueBio has been founder-financed, but the team expects to seek outside support as the project gears up. Tina Fischer, Mainebiz staff writer, can be reached at tfischer @ mainebiz.biz Building Maine's Most Complex Projects Consigli Construction Co., Inc. Construction Managers & General Contractors | consigli.com Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Alfond Center for Ocean Education and Innovation SEE HOW IT WAS BUILT SP ONSORED BY REGIS TER AT MAINEBIZ .BIZ/E VENT/BLOY T I C K E T S W I L L G O F A S T ! Join us for an unforgettable evening as we honor the 2026 Mainebiz Business Leaders of the Year! Mingle with Maine's top business minds, toast to this year's honorees, and enjoy an evening of networking at this special reception and awards presentation. Celebrate this year's honorees on April 14! P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F AT L A N T I C B L U E B I O Krista Rosen, left, and Inga Potter started Atlantic BlueBio Corp. to develop high-value marine-derived ingredients from seaweed.

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