EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMRS), the industrial bioscience company, today announced that it has successfully expanded its world-class expertise in strain engineering and optimization to 26 key metabolic precursors across multiple organisms, as part of its Technology Investment Agreement (TIA) with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The multi-year TIA, worth up to $35 million to create new research and development tools and technologies to significantly reduce the time and cost of bringing new molecules to market, was previously announced on September 23, 2015, as part of DARPA’s Living Foundries program.
The development and optimization of metabolic networks to these 26 metabolic intermediates and many different pathways beyond terpenoids allows Amyris to develop an industrial-scale fermentation process for virtually any biological molecule. In addition to the expansion of the range of metabolic precursors, Amyris has also successfully expanded its industry-leading high-throughput S. cerevisiae strain construction and testing pipeline to several other industrially-relevant organisms.
These advancements have the cumulative effect of drastically reducing the R&D costs and timelines for developing a commercial process for any biological target, irrespective of the final application of the molecule. This is empowering Amyris with additional resources to develop next-generation capabilities to further advance its competitive position and accelerate its capabilities to produce go-to-market sustainable supply solutions at industrial scale for its partners.
“The DARPA-funded TIA has allowed us to continue our pioneering efforts at applying automation, next-generation analytics, and machine learning algorithms to find biological solutions to the bio-manufacturing sector,” said John Melo, Amyris President and CEO. “Amyris has always been at the forefront of utilizing big-data analytics and cutting-edge tools in the biotechnology sector, and our recent R&D results continue to pave the way toward expanding our footprint in multiple markets where fermentation-derived products offer our partners and consumers a sustainable, scalable source of supply.”
About Amyris
Amyris is the integrated renewable products company that is enabling the world’s leading brands to achieve sustainable growth. Amyris applies its innovative bioscience solutions to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules and produce specialty ingredients and consumer products. The company is delivering its No Compromise® products across a number of markets, including specialty and performance chemicals, flavors and fragrances, cosmetics ingredients, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. More information about the company is available at www.amyris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical facts could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events (such as Amyris’s expected ability to develop an industrial-scale fermentation process for virtually any biological molecule, the anticipated reduction of R&D costs and timelines for developing a commercial process for any biological target, the expected development of next-generation capabilities, the anticipated advancement of Amyris’s competitive position, the expected acceleration of Amyris’s capabilities to produce go-to-market sustainable supply solutions at industrial scale, and Amyris’s anticipated market expansion) that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management's current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including risks related to manufacturing capacity at Amyris’s Brotas facility, delays or failures in development, production and commercialization of products, liquidity and ability to fund capital expenditures, Amyris’s reliance on third parties to achieve its goals, and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” section of Amyris’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on April 17, 2017. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Amyris, the Amyris logo and No Compromise are registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to Editors: Please see news release issued September 23, 2015, entitled, "Amyris Announces Multi-Year Technology Investment Agreement With DARPA Worth Up to $35 Million".