Our Mission & Technology
The majority of everyday drugstore products—soap, shampoo, lotion, etc.—contain chemicals that are banned or soon-to-be-banned by major retailers. Curie Co makes 100% sustainable and safe ingredients from recycled marine biomaterials (branded OceanSafe™) for use in 100s of products you can find at Amazon, Walmart, Target and Sephora—all without inflating their price points.
With a powerful combination of synthetic biology and enzyme engineering, Curie Co’s new materials can fully replace the function of the banned chemicals. So when used in existing consumer products, they will work to the same effect. These solutions are biocompatible for consumers and environment alike: safe on humans, with no harm to our oceans. Curie Co has partnered with national labs and academic institutions—in addition to being a JLABS company—to develop a new generation of antimicrobial compounds and preservatives.
Curie Co’s mission is to replace chemicals banned by major retailers (Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc.) with OceanSafe™ ingredients in everyday goods, so consumers can get their same favorite products, at the same price point, without doing harm to the environment or themselves. To this end, Curie Co is positioned to become a trusted supplier and world leader of engineered enzymes and biopolymers.
Our Urgency: A Timeline
Major retailers are aggressively banning classes of chemicals found in everyday products (think: soap, shampoo, lotion, etc.) because they’re polluting our waters and jeopardizing our health. This urgently affects $89B in personal care products and $35B in consumer care products.
They’re specifically targeting those that go down the drain because they end up in our waterways where they can’t break down, causing negative impact on aquatic life and human health. At present, manufacturers have few alternatives to these preservatives.
Curie Co’s OceanSafe™ recycled marine biomaterials will replace these harmful chemicals in common consumer products—and more. They can be used to replace preservatives or create new biodegradable bioplastics for microbeads, packaging, and films.
2015
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Congress enacted into law a ban on non-biodegradable microbeads due to their devastating effect on our oceans.
2016
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The FDA eliminated 19 chemicals found in consumer soaps by banning antibacterial soaps.
2017
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The FDA further banned 23 chemicals in clinical soaps, such as surgical scrubs.
2018
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Personal Care Products Act was assigned to committee in Congress to give the FDA jurisdiction over the personal care industry.
Curie Co’s Solution and Uses
Curie Co’s propriety OceanSafe™ technology uses enzyme engineering and recycled marine biomaterials to completely replace these retailer-banned chemicals. Our 100% sustainable and safe ingredients can be washed down the drain with no threat to our waterways. Even better—they’re affordable enough for drugstore brands and products.
preservatives
As found in shampoos, soaps, face washes, lotions, sunscreens, cosmetics, and 100s of other personal care products.
BioPlastics
Exfoliants (found in toothpastes, acne washes, shaving creams, and 100s of other personal care products), bandages, packaging, and more.
First aid
Ointments, wound care, and disease prevention that are naturally antimicrobial to keep infection at bay. Bonus: Our materials are affordable enough that they won’t burden the massive healthcare industry.
OceanSafe™
OceanSafe™
Consumers are becoming increasingly ingredient-conscious and label-literate. More than ever, shoppers are checking their personal care products for lists of chemicals (or lack thereof), testing ethics, and sustainability.
Products made with Curie Co’s 100% sustainable and safe ingredients will be able to carry our branded OceanSafe™ label so consumers can see—quickly and clearly—that they’re making a smart, healthy purchase for their loved ones and themselves.
Meet the Team
Our team has a strong IP track record in enzyme engineering for regulated industries. The team has scientific expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing, industrial enzyme engineering, and bioinformatics.
Dr. Erika Milczek, Chief Executive Officer and Founder
After completing a doctoral work at Emory University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University, Dr. Milczek joined Merck & Co as a Senior Process Chemist in the Biocatalysis Group. While at Merck, she replaced chemical manufacturing processes with enzymatic routes for commercial drug synthesis.
Ken Mitchell, Chief Operations Officer
Mr. Mitchell is Curie Co’s Chief Operating Officer and has 26 years of business and research experience. He held positions at Maxygen and Codexis. Mr. Mitchell was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Gene Oracle, Inc. and Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Aligna Technologies, Inc.
Kristyn Merritt, Chief Creative Officer
With over 15 years of brand identity development, content strategy, copywriting, and editorial experience, Ms. Merritt has helped create voices for some of the largest names in media and marketing. She has worked for NBC/Universal, Birchbox, Nickelodeon, AOL, and Hearst Magazines, and consulted with dozens of other brands — all with a focus on female demographics.
Will shindel, research scientist
Mr. Shindel brings over a decade of experience in molecular biology. After obtaining his degree from Arcadia University, Mr. Shindel began his career in pharmaceuticals, operating high throughput automation for Merck, Eurofins, and WuXi AppTec. Will is an active member of the community, having mentored local iGEM teams and taught public workshops on genome editing technology.
Dr. simone costa, research scientist
Dr. Costa is a biomedical engineer who joins Curie Co. after receiving her doctorate from Duke University. While at Duke, she optimized stimuli-responsive biopolymer production for applications in materials science and drug delivery. Her doctoral training adds to her ten years of experience in laboratory work, with experience ranging from cell biology to protein engineering and polymer physics.
nicolette Somogyi, research assistant
Ms. Somogyi holds a Masters degree in Biotechnology from NYU Tandon School of Engineering. She spent the majority of her undergraduate years studying and synthesizing bioactive peptides from toxins in snail venom and also spent time working in a synthetic biology biotech startup.
Job Opportunities
CurieCo is seeking experts in their fields for long-term career opportunities. If you’re interested in working with CurieCo, please send your resume to careers@curieco.com.
Traction & Press
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Contact Us
Curie Co is proud to be a member of Johnson & Johnson's life science incubator, JLABS.
For partnership and inquires please contact inquires@curieco.com.
Our LABS
Curie Co
Johnson & Johnson Innovation, LLC - JLABS
101 Ave of the Americas
Lab 307-A
New York, New York 10013