Bio-Sourcing, based in Liège, produces monoclonal antibodies in the milk of goats whose genomes it edits with CRISPR and nuclear transfer, a "natural bioreactor" it says is far cheaper than the steel bioreactors and Chinese hamster ovary cells used to make most biologic drugs. Its EIC Accelerator project, BioMilk-mAb, receives an EU contribution of €2,475,891 and runs from October 2024 to December 2026, according to CORDIS. It aims to bring its first biosimilar, a copy of adalimumab, the antibody sold as Humira for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease, to clinical trials by 2027, and to scale up its goat facility and build an industrial milk processing plant.
The first report says four goats producing adalimumab began lactating in June 2025, at 1 to 2 grams of antibody per litre and 2 to 3 litres of milk a day, which the company calculates at 1 to 2 kilograms a year per goat, enough for 500 to 1,000 patients, according to CORDIS. The purified antibody showed an identical protein sequence and the same binding and neutralisation of its target, TNF-alpha, as the original drug, with similar efficacy in animals. Four goats for a second biosimilar, trastuzumab, were born in the first half of 2025. The report notes that full comparability and batch-to-batch consistency still need to be shown.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Bio-Sourcing, company number 0554.840.790, Liège
- Platform
- BioMilk: antibodies in the milk of gene-edited goats
- Lead candidate
- BSO-Ada, adalimumab biosimilar
- Pipeline
- Trastuzumab, golimumab biosimilars
- Business model
- Licensing around Phase 1
- EIC funding
- Blended finance, €2.5M grant, €10M equity announced
Where Bio-Sourcing Stands Now
Bio-Sourcing is a small company growing slowly. Its accounts at the National Bank of Belgium show average staff rising from 11.4 to 17.3 full-time equivalents between 2023 and 2025, and a loss of €1.17 million in 2025 after a near break-even €48,583 loss in 2024. Total equity at the end of 2025 was €894,791, according to its filed accounts.
"The purified adalimumab shows identical primary sequence, soluble TNFα binding and TNFα neutralization capacity as the originator."
Bio-Sourcing, EIC project reportThe Technology: Goats as Bioreactors
Biosimilars are still made with Chinese hamster ovary cells, a technology the EIC report calls very expensive. Bio-Sourcing inserts the antibody gene so that it is expressed in the goat's mammary gland, then purifies the antibody from milk. The company says production facilities for conventional biologics cost $250 million to $500 million and make only a few hundred kilograms, and that its platform is five times more cost-effective, according to Tech.eu. Its target is cheaper biosimilars, especially for low- and middle-income countries.
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
The project runs to December 2026, and the clinical trial is a 2027 target, so it is too early to judge. The goats are producing, and early comparisons with Humira are positive. The goat facility expansion and the industrial milk processing plant are not documented as built. Regulators will need to accept a biosimilar made in animals, which the report does not address.
- Adalimumab goats producingDeliveredJune 2025.
- Biosimilarity assessmentPreliminaryCRO selected.
- Milk processing plantNot reportedNo announcement.
- Clinical trial2027 targetNot registered.
The Money
The EIC announced €10 million of equity in September 2024, "part of the company's next venture round", according to Tech.eu. Bio-Sourcing's total equity of €0.89 million at the end of 2025 shows that no investment of that size had arrived by then, and no venture round has been announced.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
Whether the €10 million EIC equity has been paid or is waiting for co-investors, how the industrial milk plant will be financed, and whether the EMA has given scientific advice on a goat-derived biosimilar are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The report pitches the platform as a way to strengthen Europe's own biopharmaceutical manufacturing, which it links to lessons from recent health crises. If goats can make antibodies by the kilogram at low cost, biosimilars could reach far more patients.
What the award promised
A goat-milk adalimumab biosimilar ready for clinical trials, and scale-up.
What the record shows
Four producing goats, promising lab data, no trial or new capital yet.
The Verdict
Goats ready, capital pending
Bio-Sourcing's science is moving. Its plan depends on a funding round and the EIC equity that has yet to appear.
Bio-Sourcing and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
