Amyris Inc. and Firmenich SA have agreed to expand their collaboration to develop and commercialize renewable ingredients for the Flavors and Fragrances (F&F) market.
Outside of existing Amyris relationships, the new collaboration agreement gives Firmenich exclusive access to the Amyris technology platform for the F&F market in exchange for significant funding over the next six years. Exact amounts of the funding weren't immediately disclosed.
Under a previous agreement established in November 2010, Firmenich funded Amyris's research and development to produce up to three F&F ingredients, with an initial fragrance oil targeted for commercialization in early 2014. Under the new agreement, Amyris and Firmenich will jointly select additional target F&F ingredients that Amyris will develop and manufacture. Firmenich will market and distribute any ingredients resulting from the collaboration exclusively in the F&F market. The companies said they will "both share in the economic value derived from the sale of these ingredients."
"We are very pleased with the progress of our ongoing collaboration with Amyris, grounded in our vision to be the leaders in renewable ingredients for the flavor and fragrance market," said Patrick Firmenich, CEO. "This partnership leverages Firmenich's world class biotechnology platform within the F&F industry, enabled by our leading team of molecular biologists and unique intellectual property, as well as, our deep client intimacy and market understanding. Innovation and sustainability are critical pillars of our business model. Thanks to this expanded partnership, we look forward to consistently providing our clients with high-quality, sustainable, and cost-competitive ingredients," Firmenich added.
"We are excited to expand our productive collaboration with Firmenich," said John Melo, Amyris' president and CEO. "The rapid pace of our targeted ingredient development so far confirms our ability to deliver a host of disruptive, competitive ingredients to our partners and underscores the strategic value of collaborations for Amyris."