Maxygen Announces Launch of Wholly-Owned Chemicals Subsidiary Codexis, Inc.
A leading provider of process development solutions to the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industriesRedwood City, CA - February 26, 2002
Maxygen, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAXY) today announced the establishment of its wholly owned chemicals subsidiary Codexis, Inc. Codexis’ goal is to be a leading provider of high-value chemical products and services to the worldwide life science and fine chemical industry. Its proprietary technologies allow for the rapid discovery and development of catalysts and processes for the efficient and cost-effective synthesis of valuable chemicals. Codexis intends to supply customers with chirally-active biological and chemical catalysts, pharmaceutical intermediates and bulk actives.
Maxygen has validated its broad technology platform for chemicals with the signing of six strategic alliances, and has over 18 potential products and processes in its research pipeline, six product candidates in development and three processes at commercial scale. In addition to the programs currently underway, Codexis intends to augment its product and process offerings with the expansion of its proprietary biocatalyst library offering, which is expected to be launched later this year. Codexis is also seeking additional partnerships with pharmaceutical and fine chemical customers to develop and supply catalysts and chemical intermediates.
“The launch of Codexis is the first step in our chemical business unit’s move towards independence, “said Russell Howard, Ph.D., CEO of Maxygen. “This strategic decision is consistent with Maxygen’s primary focus on the commercialization of human therapeutics and our desire to enable the rapid growth of our chemicals business to capitalize on the breadth of applicability of our technologies. With this move, Codexis is optimally placed to take advantage of the large chemicals market opportunity under the entrepreneurial leadership of its President Alan Shaw.”
“As the complexity of pharmaceutical molecules increases, and with mounting pressures to develop new drugs more efficiently and at lower cost, pharmaceutical companies will increasingly rely on innovative process development technologies,” according to Alan Shaw, Ph.D., President of Codexis. “Codexis is well positioned to leverage Maxygen’s powerful MolecularBreeding™ technologies for discovery and development of novel biocatalysts, which Codexis intends to complement with world class chemistry and traditional catalysis to deliver a full range of process development solutions to our customers. In addition to providing access to technology and chiral catalysts, Codexis plans to offer its customers chemical synthesis up to kilogram quantities, and the ability to scale up to tonnage quantities under cGMP through relationships with manufacturing partners.”
Maxygen, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAXY) headquartered in Redwood City, California, is focused on creating novel products using its integrated proprietary technologies for human therapeutics and industrial applications. Maxygen’s technologies bring together advances in molecular biology and protein modification to create novel biotechnology products. Maxygen has over 20 strategic collaborations with industry leaders and a pipeline of over 40 potential products, including fourteen in development. Maxygen now owns 60 patents in the U.S. and abroad covering various formats of MolecularBreeding™ directed molecular evolution technologies.
Codexis, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maxygen, Inc.
This news release contains forward-looking statements about our research and business prospects, including those relating to: the ability, speed and cost with which Codexis can discover and develop catalysts and processes; the future business plan of Codexis and the timing of future capabilities. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. Among other things these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the inherent uncertainties of research and development; financial and personnel constraints on Codexis; competitors producing superior products and processes and changing research and business priorities of Maxygen and Codexis.These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Maxygen’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, including under the caption ‘Risk Factors,’ and in Maxygen’s other periodic SEC reports, all of which are available from Maxygen at www.maxygen.com. Maxygen and Codexis disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this release as a result of new information or future events or development. Maxygen, Codexis and MolecularBreeding are trademarks of Maxygen.
Contact:
Codexis, Inc.
Tassos Gianakakos
Sr. Vice President, Business Development
T. +1-650-298-5423
F. +1-650-298-5449
tassos.gianakakos@codexis.com