Codexis Adds Value Through Pharmaceutical Lifecycle Management

At CPhI 2002 Codexis, Inc., a subsidiary of Maxygen, Inc., announced that it had successfully raised $25 million in private financing to advance the commercialization of its products, with a primary focus on developing novel biocatalysts and improved manufacturing processes for multi-billion dollar pharmaceuticals.

Twelve months on and the company cites examples of successful, on-going, commercial scale collaborations with partners including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, DSM and Novozymes as vindication for its claim to be a truly transforming technology company.

Codexis’ President and CEO, Dr. Alan Shaw has always advocated innovative technology as being the key, driving factor in building a strong life sciences business.

He comments,

‘Without technology, the industry will not move forward. It is the essential characteristic that will meaningfully impact growth and financial performance. Obviously, good technology must be supported by quality people, but assets come a very poor third when establishing differentiating factors within our market sector. There is relatively little difference between one chemical company’s assets and another’s.

‘Where Codexis differs from its peers is that we have a leverageable proprietary technology platform, which has been proven to genuinely transform process development and enhance the wealth of our customers. Our technology generates novel intellectual property which can result in substantial improvements in profit margins for launched products, can add value to pharmaceutical companies who are managing their products post patent expiry, and can provide potential competitive advantage to generic companies targeting products which are due to come off patent.’

Codexis’ business strategy is focused on developing novel processes used to manufacture mature pharmaceutical products. Drawing upon its unique MolecularBreeding and genome shuffling technologies, which are supported by a strong portfolio of patents and over $150M in investment to date, Codexis can add value to both innovators and generics manufacturers alike.

Utilising a range of biocatalysts and bioprocesses, Codexis can remove steps from a synthetic production pathway, reducing raw material costs and releasing plant capacity. Additionally, Codexis can develop a process, which either improves or totally bypasses existing intellectual property, while improving the product specification.

Dr. Shaw adds,

‘To a major innovator, looking at a drug which comes off patent in five years time, this can prove invaluable. Through increasing the enantiomeric excess or reducing product impurities, we can effectively enable our customers to raise the hurdles to keep generics at bay.’

‘While it may have been the case, five to ten years ago, that pharmaceutical manufacturers would virtually accept a revenue loss of 50 per cent once a product’s patent had expired, given the challenges in getting new products approved, this appears to be no longer the case. The pharmaceutical market now is very focused on life cycle management.’

‘The extension of a product’s lifecycle, through the application of our portfolio of technologies could potentially be worth as much as a new drug to the major pharmas and generic manufacturers.’

Contact:
Codexis, Inc.
Tassos Gianakakos
Sr. Vice President, Business Development
T. +1-650-298-5423
F. +1-650-298-5449
tassos.gianakakos@codexis.com