Amyris, Inc, a leading synthetic biotechnology company accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable consumption through its Lab-to-Market technology platform and clean beauty consumer brands, announced that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with British specialty chemicals company Croda International Plc, (“Croda”) for the supply of sustainable squalene.
Amyris’ squalene is a biofermentation-based adjuvant developed using Amyris’ unique Lab-to-Market technology platform. Squalene, used in adjuvants to boost immune responses, is commonly derived from shark liver. Amyris’ sugarcane-derived, sustainable squalene is molecularly identical to the traditional shark source, offering a higher purity and a more predictable cost profile compared to sourcing directly from sharks.
Under the terms of the agreement, Amyris will manufacture and supply squalene to Croda and Croda will license squalene technology from Amyris to market, distribute, and sell squalene as an excipient, or as an ingredient in formulated products for use in human and veterinary vaccines, drug delivery systems, or nucleic acid delivery systems.
In addition to an upfront payment of $4 million and a future – performance based – milestone payment of $4 million, Amyris will receive a share of profits generated from the sale of squalene excipients and formulated products incorporating Amyris’ squalene technology for use in the vaccine field.
“We are pleased to partner with Croda to increase access to our sustainable squalene. This agreement is a continuation of our successful strategy to develop, scale and make the world’s best-performing molecules from clean, sustainable chemistry,” said John Melo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amyris. “We have seen the impact and market desire for sustainable ingredients in beauty, health and wellness markets. Amyris currently supplies 70% of the world’s squalane market, saving 2.7 million sharks a year. With Croda’s partnership we believe we can have a similar impact on the vaccine market with our squalene.”
Daniele Piergentili, President Life Sciences at Croda, explains his excitement: “Our partnership with Amyris is fully aligned with Croda’s commitment to be the most sustainable supplier of innovative ingredients across our growth markets and with our pharmaceutical strategy to “Empower Biologics Delivery. Our ambition is to be able to offer vaccine developers the most appropriate adjuvant systems to maximize the efficacy of their antigen. Sustainably sourced squalene is a perfect extension to our broad spectrum of cGMP vaccine adjuvants, and we eagerly look forward to leveraging it globally across our customer base.”
SOURCE: PR Newswire