Codexis, Dyadic In Enzyme Production System License Agreement
17 November 2008
Codexis, Inc. and Dyadic International (USA), Inc. have entered into an agreement covering use of Dyadic’s C1 expression system for large-scale production of enzymes in certain fields including biofuels and chemical and pharmaceutical intermediate production. The agreement includes an upfront payment by Codexis of $10 million provided that certain performance criteria are satisfied. Additional financial terms were not disclosed.
Dyadic developed an integrated technology platform to rapidly discover and express genes of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic origin, then efficiently and inexpensively manufacturing the products of those genes. The company uses a number of proprietary fungal strains to produce enzymes and other biomaterials, principally focused on a system for protein production based on the patented Chrysosporium lucknowense fungus, known as C1. (Earlier post.)
Dyadic is applying its technologies to produce enzymes for use in converting various agricultural products (e.g. corn) and waste products (e.g. switch grass, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse, etc.) into fermentable sugars, which can then be used in the production of traditional and cellulosic ethanol as well as other products currently derived from petroleum.
Codexis, which also collaborates with Royal Dutch Shell on biofuels, among other partners, uses proprietary technology for directed evolution and strain development to rapidly generate novel biological catalysts. These catalysts fall into two categories: enzymes and fermentation strains. (Earlier post.)
We are developing advanced biofuels from non-food biomass sources, and we have other programs aimed at addressing critical environmental issues. The Dyadic production system expands our technology platform, providing improved capability and efficiency in enzyme production across many Codexis programs.
—Alan Shaw, Ph.D., Codexis President and CEO
Most interesting here is the notion that the Dyadic process appears to utilize prokaryotic genes for the production of enzymes - suggesting that these could be anaerobic processes. In that case the energy conversion would appear to be lower than with eukaryotic genes - causing us to think they would be of less commercial value in sugar conversion.
If Dyadic C1 continues to demonstrate its abilities - Codexis is paying far too little for what it's getting. It would be in Dyadic's best interest to negotiate a greater commitment from Codexis - especially in light of their partnership with RDS.
Posted by: gr | 17 November 2008 at 10:18 AM