Week 1 - Synthetic Biology of Colour - Session 2
Programming Microbes for Textile Pigments
Innovation Showcase
Nick Milne, CSO, Octarine Bio: PurePalette™, Transforming fashion colours through synthetic biology
About Octarine
Octarine is reimagining textile dyeing with synthetic biology. Using precision fermentation, the company has developed PurePalette™—the industry’s most extensive range of sustainable, bio-based dyes. These colours not only match the performance of conventional dyes across multiple fiber types, but are also cost-competitive and compatible with existing dyeing infrastructure. Octarine’s first products made their global debut at London Fashion Week in September 2024, and the company is now collaborating with leading fashion brands and textile mills worldwide to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable fashion industry.
Speaker Bio – Nick Milne
Nick Milne, CSO & Co-founder of Octarine Bio
Nick Milne is a metabolic engineer and fermentation scientist with a career dedicated to replacing unsustainable chemical processes with bio-based alternatives. He earned his PhD from the Technical University of Delft and has since worked across academia (Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability) and industry (Evolva), engineering microbes to produce everything from biofuels and bioplastics to flavours, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.
Nick has taken projects from proof-of-concept through to full commercial production, with numerous scientific publications and patents to his name. His research into the biosynthesis of psychedelic molecules—including the first demonstration of microbial production of psilocybin and its novel derivatives—was spun out into Octarine and continues to underpin its therapeutic programs. Today, as CSO and co-founder, Nick leads Octarine’s efforts to apply synthetic biology and fermentation at scale, with PurePalette™ marking a milestone in bringing sustainable colour to the fashion industry.
Entrepeneurship discusssion
GMO Regulation & Bio-Dyes: What’s Allowed in European Fashion?
-Craig Titmus, European Patent Attorney, Mathys & Squire LLP
-Nick Milne, CSO, Octarine Bio
Nick Milne is a metabolic engineer and fermentation scientist with a career dedicated to replacing unsustainable chemical processes with bio-based alternatives. After earning his PhD at the Technical University of Delft, he worked in both academia (Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability) and industry (Evolva), engineering microbes to produce fuels, bioplastics, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. He has taken projects from proof-of-concept through to full commercial production, with patents and publications to his name. Today, as CSO of Octarine Bio, Nick leads the development of PurePalette™, a groundbreaking portfolio of sustainable dyes produced through precision fermentation, now making its way into global fashion supply chains.
Craig Titmus brings together deep scientific expertise and legal acumen to help innovators in biotechnology navigate the complex intellectual property landscape. With a degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Durham University and a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge, Craig combines technical depth with practical experience across diagnostics, vaccines, gene editing, therapeutic antibodies, and nucleic acid-based technologies. He advises a wide spectrum of clients, from startups and universities to multinational corporations and the UK government, on European and global patent strategies. He is also the patent attorney for Colorifix, one of the pioneering companies using synthetic biology to revolutionise sustainable dye manufacturing.