REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Codexis, Inc., a privately held biosciences company, today announced it has extended the term of an existing research agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company . Codexis also announced that it will receive an undisclosed milestone payment for having successfully achieved the program’s research milestone.
The research agreement was announced May 24, 2005 and focused on improving biocatalyst productivity for an undisclosed product candidate in the Bristol-Myers Squibb pipeline using Codexis’ proprietary MolecularBreeding(TM) directed evolution platform. Under the extended term of the agreement Codexis will receive additional undisclosed research funding and an additional payment, at Bristol-Myers Squibb’s option, upon delivery of an enzyme for pilot-scale testing at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Further terms were not disclosed.
“We are delighted to announce the extension of the term of this agreement with BMS, one of the world’s leading human therapeutics companies,” said Alan Shaw, Ph.D., Codexis President and Chief Executive Officer.
Technology Background
Codexis’ unique MolecularBreeding(TM) protein and strain engineering technology platform is designed to create superior biological catalysts -- either enzymes or fermentation strains -- crafted specifically for cutting- edge chemical processes that may enable pharmaceutical process development, shorten process development timelines, dramatically improve existing manufacturing processes and increase chemical development productivity. Codexis estimates that its platform technology may reduce cost of goods by 35% - 65% and capital expenditures by over 25%. In addition, the application of this platform technology may create the opportunity for new patents, which may help extend the patented 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 enzymes or strains 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 protein and strain engineering technologies to create novel process development solutions for efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly pharmaceutical manufacturing. Application of the company’s proprietary protein and strain engineering platform may also generate new intellectual property opportunities for pharmaceutical manufacturers, which may extend the drug product lifecycle. In addition to its relationship with BMS, Codexis has more than 12 strategic alliances, including a major collaboration with Pfizer, and more than 20 products and processes in development internally and at leading worldwide life sciences companies. Codexis, Inc. began operations as an independent company in 2002.
NOTE: Codexis is a trademark of Codexis, Inc. Contact: Codexis, Inc. Tassos Gianakakos Sr. Vice President, Business Development T. +1-650-298-5423 F. +1-650-298-5449 tassos.gianakakos@codexis.com Media: Tricia Morsch Burns McClellan 212-213-0006 tmorsch@burnsmc.com
Codexis, Inc.
CONTACT: Tassos Gianakakos, Sr. Vice President, Business Development ofCodexis, Inc., +1-650-298-5423, or fax, +1-650-298-5449, ortassos.gianakakos@codexis.com; or media, Tricia Morsch of Burns McClellan,+1-212-213-0006, or tmorsch@burnsmc.com, for Codexis, Inc.
Web site: http://www.codexis.com/
