With the hatching of more than 40,000 silkworms, Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a leading developer of spider silk based fibres, has successfully launched production at its new Indiana production facility. The company is now on schedule to produce all of the recombinant spider silk necessary to fulfill its contract with the US Government on time and in the set budget.
The company has a large inventory of silkworm eggs ready to hatch. In the coming weeks, the company plans to ramp up the hatch rate. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories’ COO Jon Rice says the first batch of 40,000 silkworms were just the beginning of the company’s aggressive plans to scale up domestic production. With this facility, the company now has the capability to rapidly respond to the numerous request that it receives for its Dragon Silk.
In months to come, the company will be increasing the throughput of new facility. Then it will prepare for an expanded US operation which will include the planting of thousands of mulberry trees in addition to its new domestic plant.
It is important to note the company received a contract worth $1 million from the US Army for the development of high performance fibres for protective apparel applications this summer. Under the fully funded base effort valued at $99,962, the company was contracted to deliver ballistic shoot packs constructed from its proprietary Dragon Silk material for performance testing. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a fully reporting biotechnology company is a leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk based fibre.
