EMERYVILLE, Calif. and GENEVA, March 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMRS), a leading renewable chemicals company, and Firmenich SA, a leading global flavors and fragrances company, have announced a significant expansion of their collaboration to develop and commercialize renewable ingredients for the Flavors and Fragrances (F&F) market. Outside existing Amyris relationships, the new collaboration agreement provides Firmenich with exclusive access to the Amyris technology platform for the F&F market in exchange for significant funding over the next six years.
"We are very pleased with the progress of our ongoing collaboration with Amyris, grounded in our vision to be the leaders in renewable ingredients for the flavor and fragrance market," said Patrick Firmenich, Chief Executive Officer. "This partnership leverages Firmenich's world class biotechnology platform within the F&F industry, enabled by our leading team of molecular biologists and unique intellectual property, as well as, our deep client intimacy and market understanding. Innovation and sustainability are critical pillars of our business model. Thanks to this expanded partnership, we look forward to consistently providing our clients with high-quality, sustainable, and cost-competitive ingredients," emphasized Firmenich.
"We are excited to expand our productive collaboration with Firmenich," said John Melo, Amyris President & Chief Executive Officer. "The rapid pace of our targeted ingredient development so far confirms our ability to deliver a host of disruptive, competitive ingredients to our partners and underscores the strategic value of collaborations for Amyris."
Under a previous agreement established in November 2010, Firmenich funded Amyris's research and development to produce up to three F&F ingredients, with an initial fragrance oil targeted for commercialization in early 2014. Under the new agreement, Amyris and Firmenich will jointly select additional target F&F ingredients that Amyris will develop and manufacture. Firmenich will market and distribute any ingredients resulting from the collaboration exclusively in the F&F market. Both parties will share in the economic value derived from the sale of these ingredients.
About the Companies
Amyris is an integrated renewable products company focused on providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products. Amyris uses its industrial synthetic biology platform to convert plant sugars into a variety of hydrocarbon molecules—flexible building blocks that can be used in a wide range of products. Amyris is commercializing these products both as No Compromise® renewable ingredients in cosmetics, flavors and fragrances, polymers, lubricants and consumer products, and also as No Compromise renewable diesel and jet fuel. Amyris Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Amyris, oversees the establishment and expansion of Amyris's production in Brazil. More information about Amyris is available at www.amyris.com.
The Amyris, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=12462
Firmenich is the largest privately-owned company in the perfume and flavor business. Swiss, family-owned and founded in Geneva in 1895, it has created many of the world's best-known perfumes and flavors that you enjoy each day. Its passion for smell and taste is at the heart of its success. It is renowned for its creativity and innovation, as well as its exceptional understanding of consumer trends. Every year, it invests around 10% of its turnover in R&D, reflecting its continued desire to understand, share and sublimate the best that nature has to offer. The annual turnover for Firmenich was 2.64 billion Swiss francs at end June 2012.
The Firmenich logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=17571
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical facts could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events (such as funding under a collaboration agreement, development and commercialization of F&F ingredients, benefits of potential F&F ingredients, the timing of commercialization of an initial F&F ingredient, and ability to deliver renewable products to customers and partners) that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management's current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including those associated with any delays or failures in development, production or commercialization of products, liquidity and ability to fund capital expenditures, Amyris's reliance on third parties to achieve its goals, and other risks detailed in the "Risk Factors" section of Amyris's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on November 9, 2012. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Amyris, Biofene and No Compromise are trademarks or registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. This press release also contains trademarks of other businesses that are the property of their respective owners.