Partners Announce Breakthrough in Production of Chemicals via Biotechnology

PARNTERS ANNOUNCE BREAKTHROUGH IN PRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS VIA BIOTECHNOLOGY

August 17, 1998. Genencor International, Inc., Eastman Chemical Company, Electrosynthesis Company Inc., MicroGenomics Inc., and Argonne National Laboratory today announced achieving a major milestone in the development of new methods to manufacture chemicals from renewable resources.

The first target chemical, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) has a worldwide market of approximately $600 million (USD). The new production process is based on a fermentation system that is less expensive and more eco-efficient than current production processes. The new technology is a major advance in the development of biocatalysts for the production of chemicals from renewable raw materials.

The research and development of the process was supported by a $15.6 million award from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The ATP works with industry through cost-shared projects to develop high-risk industrial technologies that have the potential for significant economic benefit for the nation.

The overall project goal is to develop Continuous Biocatalytic Systems to manufacture chemicals from renewable bio-mass raw materials like corn. The five-member team matched the Federal money and each is contributing technology to the project. (See sidebar for more details on the team.)

"Genencor and its partners teamed both large and small companies together with a government lab to achieve a significant breakthrough in process technology," said ATP Director Dr. Lura Powell. "We're proud of the role the ATP plays in catalyzing this sort of cooperative research and hope to see this technology extended to additional commercially valuable chemicals."

The new fermentation process combines several enzymatic steps within one production organism to synthesize the target chemical using glucose as the main bulk raw material. Innovative downstream recovery and purification steps, such as electrodialysis, contribute to the overall success of the technology. The capital costs for this manufacturing approach is estimated to be one-half that of the standard Reichstein chemical process.

"The ascorbic acid project has allowed Eastman to use its skills in chemistry and chemical process development to integrate contributions from the various partners. Together with NIST, all the partners have been able to demonstrate the value of combining different skills to achieve significant breakthroughs in the production of chemicals via biotechnology," said Dr. Robert Clemens, Director of Industrial Biochemical Programs at Eastman Chemical Company.

The partners expect to commercialize the technology in cooperation with another company.

Continuous Biocatalytic Systems for the Production Of Chemicals From Renewable Raw Materials ATP NIST Team Members

Genencor International, Inc.
Genencor International, the joint-venture administrator, is one of the world's leading industrial biotechnology companies. Genencor supplies industrial enzymes and biocatalysts to leading companies in the cleaning, textiles, grain processing, feed and specialty chemicals industries. Genencor brings its expertise in fermentation, pathway engineering, high performance strains and development to the team.

Eastman Chemical Company
Eastman Chemical Company manufacturers and markets chemicals, fibers and plastics and had 1997 sales of $4.68 billion (USD.) Eastman won the 1993 Malcolm Baldridge national Quality Award in the large manufacturing category and has recently been named by Industry Week magazine as one of the world's 100 best-managed companies for the third consecutive year. Corporate headquarters is in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Electrosynthesis Company, Inc.
The Electrosynthesis Company is a recognized leader in electrochemical R&D and electrolysis systems for membrane-based separations, electrosynthesis of chemicals, and environmental technology. Electrosynthesis Company's considerable expertise in electrodialysis and electrochemical salt splitting contributes to the success of the downstream recovery and purification of the bulk fermentation products.

MicroGenomics, Inc.
MicroGenomics is an exciting biotechnology start-up that has discovered new pathways from microorganisms using molecular biology methodologies.

Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory, a Department of Energy lab, is a tremendous resource for life science applications with expertise in genomics, downstream processing and unique capabilities in the structure function analysis of proteins.

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