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Codexis Enters Into Research Collaboration With Schering-Plough |
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22 Mar 2006 |
REDWOOD CITY, CA, USA | Mar 21, 2006 | Codexis, Inc., a privately held biosciences company, today announced that it has signed a research agreement with Schering-Plough Corporation to develop a novel synthetic process for use by Schering-Plough.
The collaboration will focus on improving biocatalyst productivity using Codexis' proprietary MolecularBreeding™ pharmaceutical process re-engineering platform. Codexis will receive research funding and milestone payments upon successful completion of certain objectives of the research. Further terms were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to add Schering-Plough to our list of industry-leading pharmaceutical partners.” said Alan Shaw, Ph.D., Codexis President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are delighted to see a growing number of major pharmaceutical companies recognizing the competitive advantage and cost-savings value that Codexis’ technology brings to the manufacturing process for clinical-scale production and product commercialization, and look forward to continued adoption of our technology across the pharmaceutical industry.”
Technology Background
Codexis' partnerships draw upon the company's expertise and track record in applying its proprietary technology to high-value pharmaceutical products to improve their purity profile and reduce manufacturing time, cost and waste. Codexis has more than 15 partnerships with leading worldwide proprietary and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The company's unique MolecularBreeding™ protein and strain engineering technology platform creates superior biological catalysts (biocatalysts) -- either enzymes or fermentation strains -- crafted specifically for cutting-edge chemical processes that can enable pharmaceutical process development, shorten process development timelines, dramatically improve existing manufacturing processes and increase chemical development productivity. Codexis estimates that its platform technology can reduce cost of goods by 35% - 65% and capital expenditures by over 35%. In addition, this platform technology can create new intellectual property opportunities, which can help extend the lifetime of drug products.
Codexis' platform technology begins with the selection of genes or genomes with DNA sequence diversity. These gene or genomic variants are then subjected to a proprietary technique that recombines, or "shuffles," the DNA. The resulting library encoding for novel biocatalysts is screened for those possessing desirable and improved properties. This process is repeated several times until the resulting enzymes or strains meet or exceed the target performance.
About Codexis, Inc.
Codexis is a privately held biosciences company applying proprietary synthetic chemistry technologies to create improved versions of small molecule therapeutics. Codexis' technology enables novel process development solutions for efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly pharmaceutical manufacturing. Application of the company's proprietary protein and strain engineering platform can also generate new intellectual property opportunities for pharmaceutical manufacturers, which may extend the drug product lifecycle. Codexis has more than 15 strategic alliances, and the company’s technology is being applied to the development of more than 20 therapeutic products worldwide. Codexis, Inc. began operations as an independent company in 2002.
SOURCE: Codexis is a trademark of Codexis, Inc. |
