Codexis Announces Four New Codex™ Biocatalyst Panels
Expands Portfolio of R&D Productivity Tools for Fast, Efficient Pharmaceutical Process Development; Launched at CPhI This WeekRedwood City, CA - October 1, 2007
Codexis, Inc., a leading developer of clean, biobased manufacturing technologies, today expanded its portfolio of Codex™ Biocatalyst Panels. The company announced four new panels covering classes of enzymes that can produce a broad range of chemicals widely used by the pharmaceutical industry. The panels will be launched this week at the 2007 CPhI (Convention of Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Intermediates) conference in Milan, Italy (Oct. 2-4, www.cphi.com).
In February, Codexis introduced the first panel, the Codex™ KRED Panel for development of new biocatalyst-based manufacturing processes for chiral alcohols. Biocatalysts enable development of environmentally-friendly, low cost methods to produce chirally pure chemicals and have already replaced chemo-catalysts in certain processes. With the announcement this week, Codexis will offer panels for 4 additional enzyme classes which can be used for producing the molecules shown in the chart below. The Codex™ Acylase and Codex™ ERED panels will be available in the fourth quarter of 2007; the remaining panels in the first quarter of 2008.
| Enzyme Class | Products |
| Acylases (Codex™ Acylase) | Chiral amines or alcohols via resolution of amides or esters |
| Ene reductases (Codex™ ERED) | α and/or β chiral ketones, esters and nitriles |
| Transaminases (Codex™ TA) | Chiral amines |
| Halohydrin dehalogenases (Codex™ HHDH) | Chiral halohydrins, cyanohydrins, amino alcohols, epoxides, diols |
“Since their launch in February, customers have used the Codex™ KRED Panel to move from initial screening to generating the first kilogram quantities of a target material in a matter of weeks – a substantial reduction in development time,” said Peter Seufer-Wasserthal, Ph.D., Vice President and General Manager, Codexis Pharma Services Group. “Panel data can be integrated early in the research process, dramatically reducing the time required by pharmaceutical process chemists to generate a cost-effective, efficient biocatalyst for a desired reaction.”
The Codex™ Biocatalyst Panels are next-generation research products that enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to harness the power of directed evolution by providing biocatalysts that can increase R&D and manufacturing productivity while significantly reducing cost. Sets of diagnostic enzyme panels are provided in a convenient 96-well format to efficiently determine if a biocatalytic solution is available for a challenging process step in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates needed to produce human therapeutics. Panel data is then used to rapidly develop product-specific, customized biocatalysts and biocatalytic processes for Codexis’ pharmaceutical partners.
Codexis, Inc., a private biotechnology company, is a leading developer of biocatalytic chemical technologies that can dramatically reduce the cost of manufacturing across a broad range of industries. Codexis technologies enable novel solutions for efficient, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly processes for pharmaceutical, energy and industrial chemical applications. In 2006, the company was recognized by the U.S. EPA with a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for developing an environmentally friendly, low-cost alternative manufacturing process. Codexis began operations in 2002. For more information, see www.Codexis.com.
Contact: At CPhI; Richard Kerns, +44 797 457 9202 ; Other media inquiries: Justin Jackson, jjackson@burnsmc.com Burns McClellan, 212-213-0006, or Lyn Christenson, lyn.christenson@codexis.com, 650-298-5368