EMERYVILLE, Calif., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. today announced that it has been selected by The World Economic Forum as one of 36 Technology Pioneers for 2006. Honored in the Biotechnology/Health category, Amyris Biotechnologies is applying advances in synthetic biology to provide a consistent, cost-effective supply of high-value natural compounds for application as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and fine chemicals.
To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be truly innovative; it must have a potential long-term impact on business and society; it is expected to show the signs of a long-term market leader; its technology must be proven; and it must have visionary leadership. Previous Technology Pioneers have included: Autonomy, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Encore Software, Google, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Napster.
"The creative innovations produced by our Technology Pioneers hold the promise of significantly affecting the way business and society operate," said Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. "As a global knowledge hub, we see the Technology Pioneer community as key contributors to this dialogue and to the mission of the World Economic Forum."
Jay Keasling, Ph.D., a founder of Amyris Biotechnologies, will be accepting the award on behalf of the company. Amyris was founded to leverage recent breakthroughs in synthetic biology to cost-effectively produce high- value, complex molecules that are currently available only in small quantities through extraction from natural sources. By isolating genes from their natural sources and inserting them into industrial microbes, Amyris is able to produce a wide range of natural compounds in a stable, scaleable, and cost- efficient manner. As part of a three-party consortium, Amyris currently is utilizing this technology to address supply and cost constraints that limit the use of the life-saving anti-malarial drug, artemisinin. The methodologies developed during this first project, which is being conducted on a not-for- profit basis, will allow Amyris to bring other important natural compounds, many of which were previously inaccessible, into the clinic and world markets.
"We are extremely gratified to be selected as a Technology Pioneer," said Dr. Keasling. "This award validates both our core technology and our decision to focus initially on meeting a critical need in the developing world. We believe that companies can, with proper support from the world community, build profitable businesses while at the same time contributing to sustainable global health. Through our interactions with the World Economic Forum and other Technology Pioneers, I hope to gain a better understanding of the complex challenges of global health and the ways in which Amyris might use its novel technology to help address those challenges."
In line with the Forum's commitment to improving the state of the world, the Technology Pioneers program was established in 2000 to provide a new perspective on technological change. The program is run by the World Economic Forum with Apax Partners and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as Strategic Partners. Through its Technology Pioneers program, the Forum identifies and integrates innovative companies around the world and engages them in an exploration of key technology issues facing society.
Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. (http://www.amyrisbiotech.com) uses synthetic biology to produce complex natural chemicals important to the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. Amyris employs a variety of biosynthetic pathways engineered into microbes to provide commercial access to a range of high-value molecules, including promising new drugs that have not been developed because of supply limitations.
The World Economic Forum (http://www.weforum.org), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world. Funded by the contributions of 1,000 of the world's foremost corporations, the Forum acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress. The Forum serves its members and society by creating partnerships between and among business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society to define, discuss and advance key issues on the global agenda. Incorporated in 1971 as a foundation, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit, and is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. In 1995 the Forum was awarded NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc.CONTACT: Kinkead Reiling of Amyris Biotechnologies, +1-510-450-0761 x715,reiling@amyrisbiotech.com; or Matthias Lufkens of the World Economic Forum,+41-22-869-1424, Fax: +41-22-869-1394, matthias.luefkens@weforum.org
