Amyris Signs Pact With Croda For Supply Of Sustainable Squalene

Amyris, Inc., a leading synthetic biotechnology company, announced that it has signed an exclusive licence agreement for the supply of sustainable squalene with British specialty chemicals company Croda International Plc (Croda). Amyris' squalene is a biofermentation-based adjuvant created with Amyris' proprietary Lab-to-Market technology platform. Squalene, which is commonly used in adjuvants to boost immune responses, is derived from shark liver. Amyris' sugarcane-derived, sustainable squalene is molecularly identical to the traditional shark source, but with higher purity and a more predictable cost profile when compared to shark sourcing directly.

Amyris will manufacture and supply squalene to Croda under the terms of the agreement, and Croda will licence Amyris' squalene technology to market, distribute, and sell squalene as an excipient or as an ingredient in formulated products for use in human and veterinary vaccines, drug delivery systems, or nucleic acid delivery systems. Croda will also use its experience with good manufacturing practises in the pharmaceutical industry to expedite the commercialization of final packaged squalene products. Amyris will receive a share of profits generated by the sale of squalene excipients and formulated products incorporating Amyris' squalene technology for use in the vaccine field, in addition to an upfront payment of $4 million and a future - performance based - milestone payment of $4 million.

"We are excited to collaborate with Croda to expand access to our sustainable squalene." "This agreement is a continuation of our successful strategy to develop, scale, and manufacture the world's best-performing molecules from clean, sustainable chemistry," said John Melo, Amyris' president and CEO. "In the beauty, health, and wellness markets, we've seen the impact and market demand for sustainable ingredients." Amyris now supplies 70% of the global squalane market, saving 2.7 million sharks each year. We believe that with Croda's help, we can have a similar impact on the vaccine market with our squalene." Daniele Piergentili, president Life Sciences at Croda, explains his excitement: "Our partnership with Amyris is fully aligned with Croda's commitment to be the most sustainable supplier of innovative ingredients across our growth markets and with our pharmaceutical strategy to "Empower Biologics Delivery.

Our ambition is to be able to offer vaccine developers the most appropriate adjuvant systems to maximize the efficacy of their antigen. Sustainably sourced squalene is a perfect extension to our broad spectrum of cGMP vaccine adjuvants, and we eagerly look forward to leveraging it globally across our customer base." Amyris is a leading synthetic biotechnology company, transitioning the Clean Health & Beauty and Flavors & Fragrances markets to sustainable ingredients through fermentation and the company's proprietary Lab-to-Market technology platform. Established in 1925, Croda is the name behind sustainable, high performance ingredients and technologies in some of the world's most successful brands: creating, making and selling speciality chemicals that are relied on by industries and consumers everywhere.