Amyris To Produce Fragrance Oil Molecule for Firmenich in 2014

Amyris announced it has successfully produced its first fragrance oil for its partner Firmenich SA. In 2014, building on the successful scale-up of production at a specialty contract manufacturer, Amyris plans to produce this fragrance oil at Amyris’s own industrial fermentation plant, located near the town of Brotas, São Paulo state in Brazil.

“We are not only building on our existing fuels market opportunities but also expanding our portfolio of renewable products, as we have shown with our successful production of a fragrance oil, the third molecule we have taken from lab to industrial scale following artemisinin and farnesene,” said John Melo, president and CEO at Amyris.

Amyris plans to also produce this fragrance oil at its own Brotas production facility. The Brotas biorefinery currently produces Biofene, Amyris’s brand of farnesene, a renewable hydrocarbon used for a range of applications. Following planned improvements to the Brotas plant in early 2014, Amyris expects to be able to produce both Biofene and a range of other fermentation products, including its fragrance oils, at the plant.

“We have produced our first fragrance oil for our partner Firmenich who will use it in its own formulations as well as supply it to some of its key customers," added Melo. "With the knowledge we have gained from successful scale-up runs, we plan to make modifications to our Brotas plant early next year that will allow us to produce this fragrance oil at our own facility. We believe this will help us increase volumes and lower our production costs, as well give us the flexibility to produce multiple products to maximize the overall efficiency of our Brotas operation,” he said.

Boet Brinkgreve, group vice president of ingredients at Firmenich, said this technology will enable Firmenich to make differentiated perfume creations with unique renewable ingredients.

"Our clients expect reliability of supply, cost innovation and olfactive differentiation, all of which we think the move to Brotas will help support,” said Brinkgreve. 

Earlier this year, Amyris announced an expansion of its collaboration with Firmenich, with commercialization of its first fragrance molecule targeted for early 2014. The two companies continue to collaborate on additional molecules that Firmenich can market in the flavors and fragrances market. As detailed previously, the parties will share in the economic value derived from the sale of these ingredients.

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