Calgary, Alberta, Canada
January 29, 2008
SemBioSys Genetics Inc. (TSX: SBS), a biotechnology company
developing a portfolio of therapeutic proteins for
metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, today announced that it
has signed an option agreement with The Instituto de
Agrobiotecnologia Rosario S.A. (INDEAR) based in Rosario,
Argentina. INDEAR is a joint venture company formed by Bio Sidus
AG S.A. and Bioceres S.A. to develop manufacturing and
development capabilities for agricultural biotechnology products
for South American markets. Under the terms of the agreement,
INDEAR will evaluate the utility of using plant-produced
chymosin for the production of cheese in South America. As per
the agreement, SemBioSys will receive an option fee and will be
eligible to collect an upfront license fee, possible milestone
payments and royalties or other form of profit-sharing in the
event INDEAR chooses to exercise their option.
"This agreement demonstrates the breadth of opportunity offered
by our plant-based technology platform. The cost advantages of
producing insulin and Apo AI in plants are also applicable to
non-pharmaceutical products, in this case chymosin as a
protein-based food processing agent," said Andrew Baum,
President and CEO of SemBioSys. "Our work with chymosin is quite
advanced and we believe that it offers compelling economic
advantages relative to traditional sources of chymosin enzyme.
We are excited at the prospect of working with INDEAR to bring
this product to market in South America, subject to INDEAR's
successful completion of their evaluation.
Chymosin, also called rennet, is a natural enzyme used in the
production of cheese obtained originally from calve stomachs.
The majority of chymosin used today is produced via
fermentation. Using its proprietary plant
expression system, SemBioSys has developed safflower-produced
chymosin and an extraction process that it believes will allow
for the production of chymosin in plants at significantly lower
costs.
Calgary, Alberta-based SemBioSys Genetics Inc. is a
biotechnology company developing protein-based pharmaceuticals
for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The Company's lead
pharmaceutical candidates, produced in the plant host safflower,
are recombinant human insulin to serve the rapidly expanding
global diabetes market and Apo AI, a next generation
cardiovascular drug. In addition to its pharmaceutical products,
SemBioSys is developing a series of non-pharmaceutical products
addressing human topical, nutritional oils and animal health
markets. |
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