INDUSTRY

Genomatica, Inc., a leading computational systems biology company focused on metabolic research, announced today it has entered into a license agreement with the Bio-Chemicals business unit of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Kyowa Hakko will license Genomatica's proprietary model of Escherichia coli and SimPheny, Genomatica's modeling and simulation platform. Genomatica will also provide training for the use of its modeling technology and research and development support for the construction and implementation of metabolic models of proprietary strains to Kyowa Hakko. Genomatica's technology will be used to help guide Kyowa Hakko's research efforts focused on the biological production of high-quality fine chemicals, such as amino acids, which are used as raw materials for pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural products, and industrial materials. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, but include license fees and milestone payments. "We are excited to be working with Kyowa Hakko, a global biotechnology company with extensive research capabilities that include world-class biochemicals research and fermentation technology." commented Christophe H. Schilling, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer at Genomatica. "We believe the addition of our technology to Kyowa Hakko's research and development programs will lead to a significant economic improvement in the efficiency and overall productivity of their strain development and biochemicals business objectives." "We are equipped with a powerful tool for enabling innovation in fermentation technology" mentioned Dr. Akio Ozaki, General Manager of R&D for Kyowa Hakko Bio-Chemicals. "I believe that Genomatica's technology, in combination with our genome-based technology, will accelerate our research programs and bring us fruitful results in our fermentation business." With the addition of Kyowa Hakko to its growing client list, Genomatica has now extended its presence into a promising Japanese market. In addition to expanding its existing business in the United States and Europe, the company is seeking to develop other Asian markets as well.