Precision Chroma’s 3D-Printed Columns Aim to Speed Up the Next Vaccine

The most important step in making a biologic drug is also one of the slowest. After cells have been cultured to produce the desired therapeutic protein, the resulting broth is a complex soup. The target molecule must be fished out, a process called chromatography that typically involves pumping the fluid through a column packed with porous beads. It works, but it is a bottleneck. The beads can crush under pressure, limiting flow rates. The packing is never perfectly uniform, creating inefficiencies. For Sean Feast, watching this process during his PhD research in Christchurch, the problem looked like a geometry puzzle. What if, instead of packing a tube with beads, you could print the perfect porous structure directly inside it?

That question became Precision Chroma. The company, a University of Canterbury spinout, is commercializing a patented method for 3D-printing monolithic chromatography columns. Its technology, called Printed Monolith Adsorption (PMA), is designed as a single, continuous structure of engineered pores. The goal is to let manufacturers purify vaccines, gene therapies, and other high-value biologics faster, with higher yields, and at lower cost [University of Canterbury, Unknown]. For an industry where time-to-clinic and cost-of-goods are paramount, it is a bet on a fundamental piece of lab hardware.

From PhD Thesis to Printed Monolith

The company’s origin is a classic deep tech story: academic research meets venture capital patience. Sean Feast developed the core technology during his PhD in Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Canterbury, under the supervision of Professor Conan Fee, the original inventor [University of Canterbury, Unknown]. In 2022, Feast founded Precision Chroma to commercialize the work. That same year, the venture firm Bridgewest Ventures acquired the intellectual property and partnered with the university through a New Zealand government deep tech incubator program to spin it out [Bridgewest Ventures, Unknown].

The foundational team remains tightly coupled to the science. Feast serves as CEO, while Fee acts as a key academic collaborator and business mentor [University of Canterbury, Unknown]. This continuity from lab bench to startup is central to the company’s narrative. The product is not an application layer built on someone else’s model; it is a physical object born from years of materials and fluid dynamics research. The first major external validation of that research came in October 2026, when M Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the German science and technology giant Merck KGaA, led a US$7.3 million seed round [NZ Herald, October 2026].

The Mechanics of a Faster Filter

Precision Chroma’s wedge is mechanical, not chemical. It does not invent a new binding agent; it re-engineers the scaffold that holds it. Traditional chromatography columns are packed with resin beads. The PMA column is a single, 3D-printed porous monolith. This architecture, the company claims, allows for higher flow rates without the risk of bed compression, enabling faster processing of large volumes, including solids-laden cell cultures [Precision Chroma, Unknown].

The first product slated for commercial sampling is the ProA Complete Capture Column, designed for purifying antibodies. The company expects to release samples in late 2026, with an early access program opening in late 2025 [Precision Chroma, Unknown]. The target customers are the large pharmaceutical manufacturers and contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) that produce biologics at scale. For them, any improvement in purification throughput directly translates to more doses produced per facility run and potentially lower capital expenditure [Bridgewest Ventures, Unknown].

2022 Seed | 5.4 | M USD
2023 Seed | 0.9 | M USD
2026 Seed | 7.3 | M USD

The Scale-Up Challenge

The ambition is clear, but the path from a Christchurch lab to global biomanufacturing floors is steep. The company’s published timeline shows a multi-year journey from founding to first sample, underscoring the long cycles inherent in hard tech and regulated life sciences. The risks are not merely technical but commercial and operational.

• The adoption curve. Replacing a foundational, validated piece of equipment in a highly regulated industry is notoriously slow. Buyers will require extensive performance data and validation runs before switching from incumbent suppliers like Cytiva, Thermo Fisher, or Merck Millipore itself.
• Manufacturing at scale. Perfecting a 3D-printed monolith in a lab is one feat; producing thousands of identical, sterile, regulatory-compliant columns consistently is another. The leap from R&D to cGMP manufacturing represents a significant operational hurdle.
• The integrated stack. Chromatography is part of a complex workflow. Precision Chroma’s columns must integrate seamlessly with existing systems,the pumps, detectors, and software from major vendors. Any friction in integration becomes a barrier to sale.

The company’s recent funding, particularly the lead investment from M Ventures, is a direct answer to these challenges. Merck KGaA is not just an investor; it is a titan in the life science tools sector through its MilliporeSigma business. The strategic value of that relationship,potentially providing manufacturing expertise, commercial channels, and industry credibility,may be as valuable as the capital itself [NZ Herald, October 2026].

A New Zealand Bet on Bioprocessing

Precision Chroma’s story is also a signal for New Zealand’s ambitions in high-value manufacturing. The country has a strong agricultural biotech heritage but has fewer champions in human biopharma. The support from local investors like Icehouse Ventures and New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, alongside the government’s Callaghan Innovation incubator, frames the company as a national flagship in the making [Scoop, August 2023]. Success would mean more than a product on the market; it would be a proof point that a globally competitive biotech hardware company can be built from the South Island.

The next twelve months are a critical proof phase. The opening of the early access program will generate the first real-world performance data from potential customers. Watch for partnerships with CDMOs or mid-sized biotechs willing to be early adopters. Another funding round is likely on the horizon as the company prepares for full commercial launch and scales its own manufacturing capabilities.

For decades, the process of purifying life-saving drugs has relied on a tube filled with tiny beads. It is a technology that works well enough to be everywhere, which is precisely what makes it so hard to displace. Precision Chroma’s bet is that a better geometry, rendered through a layer-by-layer printer in a Christchurch lab, can convince an entire industry to change its filters. The question it ultimately poses is not just about flow rates or yield, but about how long we accept the constraints of tools that are merely good enough, when something better might be possible.

Sources

1. [University of Canterbury, Unknown] Sean Feast alumni profile | https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/why-uc/our-alumni/young-alumni/sean-feast
2. [Bridgewest Ventures, Unknown] A step closer to a biomanufacturing centre of excellence in NZ | https://bridgewest.ventures/news-events/a-step-closer-to-a-biomanufacturing-centre-of-excellence-in-nz
3. [NZ Herald, October 2026] Merck leads $13m raise for Christchurch start-up Precision Chroma | https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/merck-leads-13m-raise-for-christchurch-start-up-precision-chroma/premium/K3E725YPRJF3BGWERWCRUC6K4I/
4. [Precision Chroma, Unknown] Expression of Interest page | https://precision-chroma.com/expression-of-interest
5. [Scoop, August 2023] Biotech startup Precision Chroma to access global markets after latest raise | https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2308/S00015/biotech-startup-precision-chroma-to-access-global-markets-after-latest-raise.htm
6. [Precision Chroma, August 2023] Scaling Up: Precision Chroma’s $1.5M Raise to Accelerate Global Reach | https://precision-chroma.com/news/scaling-up-precision-chromas-15m-raise-to-accelerate-global-reach
7. [Crunchbase, 2022-05-06] Precision Chroma funding record | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/precision-chroma