Takasago-Evolva Deal on Biotech Ingredients

Takasago International Corp. (Tokyo) has entered into an agreement with Evolva Holding SA to co-develop an undisclosed number of biosynthetic flavor and fragrance ingredients. The announcement follows Takasago's previous announcement that it had agreed to commercialize novel fragrance ingredients with Amyris. Evolva, meanwhile, recently acquired biotech firm Allylix.

Takasago recently profiled the latest innovations in sustainable ingredients in the May 2014 issue of P&F Magazine.

Under the terms of the agreement, Evolva's optimized yeast strains will be used to produce F&F materials with sustainable and cost-effective parameters. Scale-up and manufacturing will be handled by Evolva, while Takasago will address regulatory clearances and commercialization.

According to the official press release, "The two parties will share equally the costs and the economic value derived from the manufacturing and commercialization of final products. Based on current plans, the collaboration could result in commercially viable products within 3-5 years."

“We are excited to be working with Evolva to expand our ingredient palette," said Masayuki Mita, senior vice president of the fragrance and aroma chemical division at Takasago. "With their advanced fermentation technology, we believe the achievement of this project will offer the ingredients that are cost competitive and sustainable as well as boosting creative capability.”

“This is another example of a project where Evolva’s role extends well beyond R&D and we share in the future success of the product," said Neil Goldsmith, CEO of Evolva. "Our cutting edge R&D capabilities, strong intellectual property position and financial capacity enable us to take more responsibility in projects with partners. We are looking forward to working closely with Takasago and provide them with a key competitive advantage.”