Jun 23 2010
Amyris, Inc. and Soliance announced today that they have entered into a partnership combining Amyris’s industrial synthetic biology platform with Soliance’s leadership position in the production and commercialization of renewable cosmetic ingredients.
Under the agreement, the parties will apply Amyris’s technology to produce squalane for use in cosmetics. Soliance has been an established marketer of bio-sourced and vegetable-derived materials since 1994, with a strong commitment to providing renewable ingredients to the cosmetics industry through its 27 global sales and marketing offices worldwide.
Soliance has already begun the manufacture of farnesene, or Biofene™, in its industrial fermentation facilities using Amyris’s biotech process. Biofene™ will be converted into squalane which will be marketed directly by Soliance to cosmetics industry customers. In addition to the Soliance production, the parties expect to manufacture in Brazil and possibly additional sites in Europe. Amyris and Soliance will share the profits from this undertaking.
“Amyris’s ability to design yeast to produce renewable squalane offers a new opportunity for bio-sourced cosmetic ingredients with two distinct value propositions for our customers: sourcing from sustainable material and providing steady supply,” said Frederique Lafosse, general manager of Soliance. “We believe our alliance with Amyris is an important milestone for the future of renewable cosmetics.”
“Our partnership with Soliance expands our emerging product portfolio into the high value cosmetics market, and links our synthetic biology technology with a leading innovator for bio-sourced cosmetic ingredients,” said John Melo, chief executive officer of Amyris.
Squalane is used in cosmetics as an emollient and moisturizer. It penetrates the skin quickly, is non-greasy, and has a silky touch in cosmetic formulations. Squalane is a saturated form of squalene, a natural product sourced from shark liver or from vegetable sources such as olive oil. Shark hunting raises environmental and other concerns, and olive oil squalane is subject to availability issues and price variability due to its interrelationship with the consumption of the edible oil.
Source: http://www.amyris.com/