PARSIPPANY, N.J., Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
DSM Nutritional Products, a subsidiary of Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, announced today that it has entered into a collaboration with SyntheZyme LLC under a Development and Option to License Agreement to develop products based on SyntheZyme LLC's biosurfactant platform. For decades, the production of surfactants for an array of application areas such as agrochemicals, photo chemicals, oil field chemicals, construction materials, foodstuffs, adhesives, lubricants, metal working and mining has relied on the use of complex production processes.
"We are pleased to join with SyntheZyme LLC for the development of biosurfactants manufactured by a yeast fermentation process and modified by simple chemo-enzymatic methods. We see this as an important and versatile route to cost-effective natural and modified surfactant products that will be safe, biodegradable and have high biobased carbon content," said Norman Salem, Corporate Scientist, DSM Nutritional Products.
As part of the collaboration, DSM will provide R&D funding to SyntheZyme LLC to support SyntheZyme's costs in developing efficient routes to modified biosurfactants and to evaluate their properties. SyntheZyme will also be eligible to earn milestone payments, license fees, and royalties on product sales if the collaboration is successful.
"SyntheZyme LLC is pleased to join with DSM and in exploring innovative, simple and cost-effective biosurfactant technology solutions through its proprietary biosurfactant technology platform," said Rich Gross, Founder and Chief Technology Officer.
DSM – Bright Science. Brighter Living.™
DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. By connecting its unique competences in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences DSM is driving economic prosperity, environmental progress and social advances to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM's 22,000 employees deliver annual net sales of around €9 billion. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext. More information can be found at www.dsm.com.
About SyntheZyme LLC
SyntheZyme™ is a privately held sustainable chemical company commercializing the technology developed in the laboratories of Richard A. Gross, Professor of Chemistry and a Constellation Chair of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, N.Y.). SyntheZyme LLC, located in Rensselaer county at East Campus, focuses on conversion of readily renewable materials using biocatalytic systems (engineered yeast and cell-free enzymes) combined with green chemical methods to produce biobased chemicals. Through its partnership model, SyntheZyme rapidly converts ideas to cost-effective products. By making use of nature's own compounds and proprietary biocatalytic technologies SyntheZyme is creating innovative environmentally friendly bioplastics, polyurethane precursors, biosurfactants, peptides and other biochemicals. For more information, please see www.synthezyme.com.
For more information:
DSM Nutritional Products
Cassie France-Kelly
tel. + 1 443-542-2116
email cassie.francekelly@dsm.com
www.dsm.com/human-nutrition
Forward-looking statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to DSM's future (financial) performance and position. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. DSM cautions readers that such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore it should be understood that many factors can cause actual performance and position to differ materially from these statements. DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained in this press release, unless required by law. The English language version of the press release is leading.
SOURCE DSM