DEINOVE AND AVRIL TAKE A MAJOR STEP FORWARD in their R&D project

• DEINOVE has selected 20 bacterial strains producing compounds of interest for animal feed that comply with the properties sought by AVRIL.
• AVRIL is undertaking the 2^nd phase of the COLOR2B project aimed at characterizing and testing these compounds to assess their commercial potential.

MONTPELLIER, France, May 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DEINOVE (Alternext Paris:ALDEI), a biotech company developing innovative processes for producing biofuels and bio-based chemicals by using Deinococcus bacteria as host strains, today announces that the 1^st key step of the COLOR2B project, carried out in cooperation with the AVRIL Group, has been successfully completed.

Lasting 9 months, this 1^st phase consisted, for DEINOVE, in screening its 6,000-bacteria bank of Deinococci and other genera to identify 20 strains capable of producing useful molecules in terms of animal nutrition and health.

At this stage, the AVRIL Group's teams are, as planned, becoming fully involved in the project to characterize the molecules produced and to perform application tests. The goal of this new stage is to confirm each molecule's potential and to optimize production conditions.

"We have already demonstrated that our bacteria are very well suited to industrial production. Today, the highly positive start to this collaboration validates the biodiversity of our bacterial heritage," declared Emmanuel Petiot, CEO of DEINOVE. "As we move forward in analyzing our strain bank, we discover new potential applications. It is very promising for our future development with the AVRIL Group and other partners in various fields such as nutrition, or cosmetics."

"Wagering on the wealth of the DEINOVE strain bank has paid off for us and our collaboration is starting out under the best of auspices. We are now moving on to the next phase aimed at validating the potential of the selected bacteria in real applications," said Jean-François Rous, VP Research and Innovation at AVRIL.

About the COLOR2B project

This 3-year collaboration agreement, called COLOR2B, signed in August 2014 between DEINOVE and SOFIPROTÉOL (renamed AVRIL), is part of the DEINOCHEM program. Co-financed by the two partners, COLOR2B is an R&D project, which aims at developing a production process for natural feed additives. This includes selecting the best-performing bacteria strains from DEINOVE's strain bank, testing the compounds produced, qualifying their benefits for animal nutrition and health as well as developing the production process at pilot-scale.

• DEINOVE's expertise will focus on producing additives from their bacterial micro-factories, in an eco-friendly and economically viable way.
• The AVRIL Group's expertise will apply to feedstock selection, evaluation of the beneficial effects for animals, knowledge of the market and associated regulations, as well as marketing the technology developed.

Ultimately, the two partners strive to industrialize the bioproduction of such additives and launch new animal nutrition product lines. Targeted applications in human food will also be considered.

About the AVRIL Group

Avril is the industrial and financial player of the vegetable oils and proteins sectors. Its mission is to create sustainable value in these sectors by contributing to better foods for humans and preservation of the planet. Set up at the initiative of the farming world, the Group owns a portfolio of strong brands that are leaders in their respective markets, such as Lesieur, Puget, Matines, Sanders, Diester, Bunica, Taous, etc. Avril has been growing for more than 30 years in France and other countries according to a unique model under which the profit is systematically reinvested in the sectors concerned. Avril's industrial activities are organised into two Divisions which operate in synergy. The Oilseeds Division groups the processing of oilseed grain and all its markets: edible oils, sauces and condiments, renewable energy and chemistry. The Animal Products Division works in three areas: animal nutrition and productions, biosecurity and nutritional specialities and human foods. Avril's financial activities are assured by Sofiprotéol, the financing and development subsidiary of the Avril Group, which mainly focuses on the development of the oils and proteins sectors. It provides support for companies of all sizes and underpins development and innovation through loans and minority stakeholdings.
In 2013, Avril achieved turnover worth €7 billion, and counted 8200 employees working in 22 different countries.

More information at www.groupeavril.com

About DEINOVE

DEINOVE (Alternext Paris: ALDEI) is ushering in a new era of green chemistry by designing and developing new standards of production based on bacteria of untapped potential: the Deinococci. Taking advantage of the bacteria's unique genetic properties and unusual robustness, DEINOVE optimizes natural fermentation and metabolic capabilities of these bacterial "micro-factories" to produce high value-added products from non-food biomass. The Company's primary markets are 2nd generation biofuels (DEINOL) and bio-based chemicals (DEINOCHEM). On these markets, the Company offers its technology to industrial partners globally.

Listed on NYSE Alternext since April 2010, DEINOVE was founded by Dr. Philippe Pouletty, General Partner of TRUFFLE CAPITAL, and Pr. Miroslav Radman, of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris Descartes University. The company employs over 40 people in its new offices and laboratories located in Montpellier, France.

More information at www.deinove.com

DEINOVE AND AVRIL TAKE A MAJOR STEP FORWARD in their R&D project http://hugin.info/142979/R/1922481/689217.pdf

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