BioWraptor: Learning from Nature to Preserve Fragile Molecules and Therapeutics
- NYC RIN
- Oct 16
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Coming from a family of social workers and scientists, it was only natural that Maeva Coste, co-founder of BioWraptor, was inspired to innovate in a way that would also benefit others.
“Both my parents worked in social services, and my grandfather and aunt were research scientists,” said Coste. “My parents’ work is what makes me want to make a positive impact in the world, and I decided to use research and innovation to do so.”
Born and raised in the south of France, Coste received her PhD in chemistry and biomolecular engineering from the University of Montpellier. “I was always interested in sustainability and biomimetic strategies, where we try to reproduce what nature excels at, in the lab,” she said. “There are so many challenges where nature has a solution and has been perfecting this by iterating over billions of years. Some of the best technologies are already here; we just need to try to reproduce them.”
In 2022, Coste came to CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), where she worked with Professor Rein V. Ulijn, Ph.D., renowned for his breakthroughs in bio-inspired materials. There, she co‑developed the technology behind BioWraptor—a patent pending technology licensed from CUNY’s technology transfer office. Coste and the researchers she collaborated with were exploring the behavior of peptides, —chain-like molecules made from the same building blocks as proteins, but much shorter and easier to design in the lab. In this work, the peptides are organized into highly dynamic materials that can adapt to their environment.
“Our starting point was scientific curiosity,” Coste said. “Synthetic peptide materials usually form rigid, highly ordered structures, but in nature, things are often softer and more flexible, enabling them to better handle stress. We wondered if very simple peptides could recreate that natural flexibility. Unexpectedly, we discovered the peptides could trap and protect delicate biomolecules, which was exciting. We began to think about how this discovery could be applied to the real world, and as we were chemists and biologists, the fragility and storage of biomolecules came to mind.
“With further research, we determined that this seemingly small problem in academic labs is a much larger problem,” she added. “It’s not only the challenge of transportation and storage at cold temperatures, but the massive amounts of energy and logistics needed to manage a global supply chain for industries like pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
While it wasn’t the original inspiration, the team later realized that the peptide protection mechanism echoes how the tardigrade, a resilient organism, can survive extreme conditions; the peptide-based approach is much simpler and easier to engineer.
As Coste described it, "In this process, the organism forms protective compartments to keep sensitive proteins stable during stress. In nature, soft and flexible structures—often formed this way—help cells and organisms adapt to changing conditions. We wanted to see if simple peptides, through multiple interactions, could also form similar dynamic structures that stay soluble but can switch phases reversibly."
“BioWraptor mimics this process with simple peptides that protect biomolecules by locking them into rigid microspheres in powder form when dry, and releases them upon rehydration,” she added. “This enables a simple, room-temperature method for preserving biomolecules without cold storage.”
The technology involves dynamic peptide ensembles that form a protective “wrap” around fragile biomolecules—vitamins, proteins, enzymes, and more—coating them and upon drying, locking them into room-temperature-stable microspheres. These particles resist heat, light, and oxidation, but dissolve instantly upon contact with water, releasing fully active biomolecules. BioWraptor’s technology preserves function in solution or powder, widening global access to life-saving diagnostics, therapeutics, and sustainable biomanufacturing.
Coste worked for three years to co-develop the technology behind BioWraptor, describing it as a team effort; along with her PI there are five core co-inventors, and many colleagues have worked toward publishing some of the results in the journal Nature Materials. Both Coste and her PI thought there was great potential in their innovation.
With encouragement from ASRC’s Industry (ASRC CAT) program, they participated in the October 2023 New York Hub Regional I-Corps cohort, their first step towards commercialization. This Regional I-Corps cohort was six weeks long, required 60 interviews, and covered lectures and hypothesis testing across the entire business model canvas. Coste was supported by a former PhD student and technical lead, Roxana Piotrowska, along with the ASRC CAT Director of Business Development, Tavis Ezell, as industry mentor.
“The Regional cohort was challenging, as I didn’t have any background in business or marketing,” Coste said. “It was such a learning process. Our technology is really a platform for many different biomolecules and sensitive ingredients across multiple sectors; the hardest part was narrowing down to a specific first target market. That’s why I followed with National I-Corps, to help determine which market to focus on first.”
The team then expanded with the help of Cira Cardaci, NY Hub executive manager, joining as industry mentor; she participated as the team continued to the National NSF I-Corps $50K Teams Program in early 2024. Coste chose to focus on bioassays for drug discovery and diagnostic testing. Bioassays are a means of checking how a substance might affect biological systems, such as measuring the effectiveness of a new drug. She plans to expand into other markets, particularly within the pharmaceutical sector.
From January to May 2024, Coste led the team alongside Ezell and Ulijn. As part of the Materialize New York accelerator, the team completed a 14-week bootcamp run by the Lab-to-Market Accelerator Network, Columbia Technology Ventures, and Material Impact. They were the only CUNY team among 11 teams and won the final pitch.
“Ultimately I think the main market is vaccines and therapeutics, but that’s also the hardest market to break into,” Coste said. “I wanted to start with drug discovery and then expand to therapeutics, IV culture and beyond. The bioassays for drug discovery, a substantial market opportunity, is where we can generate revenue more quickly and create a validation that we can point to in effort to enter other markets. We got all these insights from customer discovery.”
During the National cohort, Coste incorporated the business, and immediately began applying for SBIR grants from various agencies. “I probably should have waited a little longer,” she laughed. “That said, I did get a lot of support from the NYC Innovation Hot Spot, including several hours of consulting to help with my applications, and participating in workshop training sessions for storytelling and SBIR applications.” Her pitches were accepted; Coste is waiting to hear whether she secured those grants and is preparing applications for other opportunities.
She continued to push ahead, benefiting from the NYC Innovation Hot Spot in numerous ways, including introductions to companies, travel support to attend the NY State Innovation Summit in October 2024, and receiving prototyping funds from the NYC Innovation Hot Spot and CUNY Industrial and Applied Research (IAR) totaling more than $13K. Coste was also one of the 9 demo presenters at the NYC Innovation Hot Spot 2025 Annual Meeting presenting to an audience of over 150 attendees.
“My vision is to build a company with a strong culture at its core, tackling challenges that I care about like health and sustainability,” Coste added. “In the short term, I want to generate revenue quickly by focusing on markets that do not require regulatory approvals. Once we establish that foundation, my plan is to expand into more regulated markets. At the same time, I am actively developing new IP to strengthen our long-term positioning.”
Coste is currently BioWraptor’s only employee; her former PI, Dr. Ulijn, is her co-founder and scientific advisor. Along with her focus on the technology, Coste is fundraising and beginning to build her team and a board.
A year ago, Coste applied for an Activate Fellowship, which she secured in May 2025. The Activate Fellowship is a two-year program designed to support early-stage science and engineering entrepreneurs in transforming their research into viable products and companies. It provides a yearly stipend along with health insurance and travel allowance. Fellows also receive $100,000 in R&D funding for their project, access to research facilities, mentorship, training, and a network of peers and experts.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I secured the Activate Fellowship,” Coste shared. “I often have ‘imposter syndrome’—I was so stressed before each interview! I really appreciate the role of the New York entrepreneurship ecosystem in aiding me through that process. I got help and support from so many different people here in the city.”
“Activate is great because everyone is supportive rather than competitive—everyone tries to help each other,” she added. “Being part of it has led to a lot of traction, investors have reached out to me directly. It’s a powerful thing! The best part of winning Activate is the opportunity to learn more about how to be an entrepreneur. Going through that process within the Activate community is extremely helpful. And being paid to try to make my technology happen without worrying about funding—it gives me peace of mind. That’s really the dream of any entrepreneur.”
More recently, in August she joined the Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship for a 13-week training program, as well as the Communitas Accelerator Cohort 2025, which began in September 2025. In October, she received the 2025 “French in the U.S. Entrepreneur Prize,” sponsored by EDHEC Business School, at the Consulate General of France in New York.
Activate is recruiting fellows for their 2026 Cohort until October 28, 2026: https://activate.org/apply
