Geltor

Geltor, Inc. is an American biotechnology company that develops animal-free collagen and elastin proteins by precision fermentation, engineering microbes to make recombinant versions of proteins normally extracted from animals. It was founded in 2015 under the name Gelzen by Alexander Lorestani and Nick Ouzounov, who met as graduate students at Princeton University. The company initially sought to develop fermentation-produced alternatives to animal-derived gelatin for food applications, but its first commercial focus was skincare. The company is based in San Leandro, California.

Technology and products

To produce its proteins, Geltor inserts synthesized DNA sequences encoding target proteins into microbes, grows the engineered microbes by fermentation, and purifies the resulting proteins.

Early experiments included producing gelatin using a synthesized gene based on a mastodon collagen sequence and creating a book cover from fermented jellyfish collagen.

The company has developed recombinant collagen and elastin ingredients for personal-care applications. Its first commercial product, launched in April 2018, was N-Collage, later renamed Collume, an animal-free collagen skincare ingredient. Geltor later developed type XXI collagen-based ingredients: HumaColl21 for topical use and PrimaColl for ingestible applications.

In 2022, Geltor announced completion of a commercial-scale production run of PrimaColl. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration closed Geltor's GRAS notice for the collagen polypeptide in October 2024, stating that the agency had no questions AbOUT the company's conclusion that the polypeptide was GeneRally recognized as safe for the proposed uses.