Nov 2 2010
Glycos Biotechnologies, Inc. (GlycosBio), an emerging biochemical company pioneering metabolic engineering and microbiology innovations for the production of sustainable biochemicals, today exchanged definitive agreements with Malaysian Bio-XCell for the establishment of the Company’s industrial biochemical plant and biotechnology R&D facility in Malaysia.
The Ceremony was held in conjunction with the BioMalaysia 2010 Exhibition and Conference taking place November 1st – 3rd in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Executives from GlycosBio, lead by Chief Executive Officer, Richard Cilento, joined Malaysian dignitaries including the Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin; Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Fadhilah Yusofi; the Chairman of Malaysian Bio-XCell, Iskandar Mizal Mahmood; and Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Bio-XCell, Raja Ridzwa Aziz in an official Ceremony for the exchange of Agreements between Bio-XCell and GlycosBio.
GlycosBio announced in May its partnership with Malaysian Bio-XCell Sdn. Bhd. to build an industrial biochemical plant and a biotechnology research and development facility to be operational in 2012. The company plans to focus much of its initial research and development efforts on creating isoprene to support Malaysia’s rubber industry.
“For Malaysia, isoprene is a strategic product because of the large domestic latex industry and where we plan to focus much of our R&D efforts,” said Richard Cilento, Chief Executive Officer of Glycos Biotechnologies. “With construction underway, our long-term strategy includes further expansion in Malaysian and across Southeast Asia forming joint venture partnerships with existing petrochemical, oleochemical, and biofuel producers and to partner with end market players in the development of advanced biochemicals. There are great opportunities in Malaysia for our microbial platform and sustainable chemical processes and we look forward to the future possibilities.”
“GlycosBio will play a significant role in strengthening our value chain for industrial bioprocess and biomanufacturing within the Bio-XCell ecosystem. This partnership will enhance our significance as a regional biotech hub for industrial and healthcare biotechnology,” said Raja Ridzwa Aziz, Chief Executive Officer of Bio-XCell.
“GlycosBio will also open opportunities for our Malaysian small and medium biotechnology enterprises to participate in its supply chain, promoting specialized services and products for the industry,” Raja Ridzwa added.
In addition, Paul Campbell Chief Science Officer for GlycosBio, will participate in a panel with other leading biotechnology scientists at the BioMalaysia 2010 Conference. The panelists will provide an overview of green chemicals and biomaterials that can be created from renewable resources in addition to the fermentative utilization of glycerol and fatty acids for the production of bulk chemicals. The panel presentation will take place Wednesday, November 3rd at 2:20pm.
“GlycosBio has engineered a series of metabolic pathways that can produce nearly a dozen chemical intermediaries including ethanol, succinic acid, propanediols, and lactic acid from a variety of non food-based feedstocks including glycerol, cellulosic sugar, plant oils, algae and fatty acids,” said Campbell. “Given the reach and flexibility of our platform, we can easily adapt and work with a market’s specific need to create a variety of high value chemicals. For this reason, we continue to be very excited about our work in Malaysia and are honored to be part of such a distinguished group of industry experts at BioMalaysia 2010.”
The BioMalaysia Conference and Exhibition is Malaysia’s largest international biotechnology conference held annually in Kuala Lumpur attracting participation from more than 150 companies. Visitors will gain insights on the latest biotechnology business, research and development, and innovation in the areas of agriculture, animal and plant breeding, equipment and supplies, food and nutrition, nanotechnology, environment, chemicals and services, natural resources and Commodities/Bio Diversity and pharmaceuticals.