Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Highlights Technical Breakthrough of Its Immortalized Silk Gland Cell Platform
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Kraig Biocraft Laboratories (OTCQB: KBLB) detailed its new immortalized silk gland cell platform, designed to use silkworm posterior silk gland cells for continuous recombinant protein production via natural exocytosis.
The approach aims to simplify purification, enable extended production cycles, and support scalable biomaterial manufacturing. Kraig Labs’ spider silk leadership was recently featured on the March 2026 cover of National Geographic.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) ("the Company", "Kraig Labs", or "Kraig's"), a world leader in spider silk technology*, today announced additional details regarding the significant advantages of the Company's newly developed immortalized silk gland cell platform.
The Company recently announced the successful isolation and immortalization of silkworm posterior silk gland cells, a breakthrough designed to support next-generation recombinant protein manufacturing and advanced biomaterial production.
Kraig Labs' technology differs significantly from conventional baculovirus insect cell expression systems commonly used throughout the biotechnology industry.
Traditional insect cell systems require cells to be infected and driven to produce a target protein until the cells are ultimately killed and destroyed to extract the protein. Once harvested, the process must begin again with a new batch of cells.
Kraig Labs' system is designed around a fundamentally different approach.
Using the silkworm's natural protein secretion process known as exocytosis, the Company's immortalized silk gland cells are designed to continuously produce and transport target proteins from the cell to the surrounding media. Because the proteins are naturally secreted from the cell, they can potentially be collected and purified repeatedly and more easily without destroying the producing cells.
Using natural exocytosis-based protein secretion pathway, the Company’s immortalized silk gland cells continuously produce and release target proteins into the surrounding culture media. Because the proteins are secreted naturally rather than retained inside the cells, they can potentially be harvested and purified more efficiently and repeatedly without disrupting or destroying the producer cells.
The Company believes this approach may offer several important manufacturing advantages.
Because the cells remain alive after protein collection, they can continue producing target proteins over extended production cycles. At the same time, collecting proteins directly from the surrounding media should reduce the need for more complex processing and purification steps typically associated with conventional intracellular production systems.
Together, these advantages may support faster production timelines, lower operating costs, improved scalability, and greater overall manufacturing efficiency.
"Our platform is designed to work with the silkworm's natural biological systems," said Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO of Kraig Labs. "Rather than destroying cells during protein recovery, our approach allows the cells to remain productive while continuously releasing target proteins into the surrounding media. We believe this technology could represent an important advancement in recombinant protein manufacturing."
Kraig Labs believes its immortalized silk gland cell culture platform may represent an important evolution far beyond traditional systems by combining continuous protein production with natural protein secretion and simplified downstream recovery.
The Company leadership in biomaterials was recently spotlighted on the cover of the March 2026 issue of National Geographic, highlighting the growing importance and predominance of our work in scaling spider silk production.
Interested persons can order a copy of National Geographic featuring Kraig Labs at https://ngsingleissues.nationalgeographic.com/natgeo-march-2026.
You can purchase a digital copy of the article directly from National Geographic at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/spider-silk-silkworm-genetic-engineering
For the latest updates on Kraig Labs and its pioneering spider silk technologies, visit www.kraiglabs.com.
For details about recent Kraig Labs advancements, please watch the Company's investor updates at www.kraiglabs.com/videos or on the Company's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@kraigbiocraftlaboratories2270.
To view the most recent news from Kraig Labs and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to www.KraigLabs.com/news
* For a description of our historical leadership in this technology, please follow this link https://www.kraiglabs.com/world-leader/
Kraig Labs Technology is built on a scientifically engineered silkworm, which incorporates key spider silk proteins to produce recombinant spider silk.
About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (www.KraigLabs.com), a reporting biotechnology company is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk-based fiber technologies.
The Company has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
Statements in this press release about the Company's future and expectations other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements." These statements are made on the basis of management's current views and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that management's expectations will necessarily come to pass. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as "believes," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "estimated," "hopes," "if," "develops," "researching," "research," "pilot," "potential," "could" or other words or phrases of similar import. Forward looking statements include descriptions of the Company's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions and goals. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
Ben Hansel, Hansel Capital, Inc.
(720) 288-8495
ir@KraigLabs.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c5c0ab91-d30a-423a-b5e9-b4e2ac827c3d
