The figures are daunting for conservationists, but a California biotech startup believes it has a solution. Pembient is producing synthetic rhino horns to offer consumers an ethical alternative. After a lengthy development period, the finished product will be on sale within months.
The process involves fabricating protein that the team claim is identical to the keratin found in rhino horns. That protein is produced as a powder, which is then shaped and manufactured with advanced 3D printing techniques until it is indistinguishable from the real thing.
Rhino receives armed guards
Rhino receives armed guards 01:10
The tools and techniques required have finally matured enough to make this possible, says CEO Matthew Markus.
"The cost of sequencing genomes has come way down, as has the synthesis of DNA," says the former computer engineer. "A lot of things are going in the right direction now, which makes some of these products feasible."
Pembient roll out their prototypes at an Indie Bio San Francisco accelerator event in June, and are hoping to make their first sales in September. Their first commercial partnership is with a Beijing craft brewery, and beyond that their ambition is to capture "10-25%" of the market.
Markus is inspired by the success of marijuana after legalization in the USA, and believes the synthetic horns will have a ready niche of users that want a legitimate source.
"One goal is to bring people out of criminal networks, many will prefer to have safety standards and quality that the black market can't provide."
However, conservationists are skeptical that synthetic horns can reduce demand for the real thing, which has greater prestige.