"Scientist-Entrepreneur Brews Prescription Drug Ingredients with a Beer-like Twist"

Antheia, a company founded by Stanford professor Christina Smolke, has successfully completed its first commercial-scale fermentation run, producing 116,000 liters of thebaine, a key ingredient for several essential drugs, in just five days. Antheia uses a bioengineering process similar to brewing beer, but instead of yeast, they use genetically engineered microorganisms to grow key ingredients for prescription drugs. The company aims to address drug shortages by providing a more efficient and scalable method of production. Antheia plans to go to market next year with its first products, focusing on key ingredients for drugs that currently face significant shortages.