Dyadic International enters into collaboration agreement with The Scripps Research Institute

Dec 15 2009

Dyadic International, Inc. (Pink Sheets: DYAI) ("Dyadic") announced today that it has extended its collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute ("Scripps") by entering into an agreement with Scripps to re-annotate the genome of Dyadic's patented and proprietary C1 fungus ("C1").

This agreement is a continuation of the successful relationship between the two organizations which began in March 2006 when Dyadic engaged Scripps to annotate the C1 genome for the first time. The results of this initial project, in combination with advances made by Dyadic, have provided necessary information for Dyadic to discover and develop more efficient enzyme products and solutions. It also established C1 as a versatile technology platform (the "C1 Platform Technology") which has subsequently been licensed by Dyadic on a non-exclusive basis to Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Inc. and Codexis, Inc. to produce enzymes and proteins on a commercial scale at higher yields and at lower costs.

Since the initial annotation project, the genomic and computational tools available to Scripps and Dyadic have improved. During this time, Dyadic has also re-sequenced its C1 genome which has provided greater knowledge of this novel organism. Lastly, the worldwide scientific community has been very active over the last few years in sequencing the genomes of a multitude of living organisms. Together, these advances now provide the impetus for Dyadic to further improve the productivity and efficiency of its patented and proprietary C1 Platform Technology by re-annotating the C1 genome and leveraging the most current scientific data. Dyadic intends to use this research to continue developing and manufacturing enzyme products for the bioenergy, food and feed, pulp and paper, and textile markets while also leveraging its technologies for use in the biopharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutical industries.

The annotation of Dyadic's re-sequenced C1 genome will be conducted at Scripps Florida under the direction of Bruce Pascal, Principal Investigator on Collaborative Proposal and Senior Scientific Engineer. Researchers from Dyadic Nederland B.V., Dyadic's research and development arm in the Netherlands ("Dyadic Netherlands"), will continue to work closely with researchers from Scripps Florida during this project. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Mark Emalfarb, Dyadic's CEO, stated, "The re-annotated C1 genome developed with Scripps Florida will provide Dyadic and its commercial partners with a more accurate blueprint of the C1 fungal strain which serves as the primary engine for Dyadic's growth. This research will help Dyadic make greater quantities of more efficient enzymes and proteins at lower costs to help provide solutions to problems facing the world such as using cellulosic ethanol to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In the biopharmaceutical industry, we intend to further utilize our technologies to help develop antibodies and other therapeutic proteins in a shorter time, at larger volumes and at lower costs. This collaboration also further underscores the strong relationship between Dyadic and Scripps as well as Dyadic's continued commitment to the development of a successful biotechnology cluster in South Florida."

Bruce Pascal of Scripps Florida added, "We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Dyadic. In the past few years, much new fungal genome data has become available, as well as new approaches for data analysis and interpretation. Our expertise in informatics, data analysis and software engineering, when combined with the C1 fungal genome should yield a powerful resource for understanding gene function, and development of important enzymes. Our goal is to facilitate the analysis and interpretation of complex data to ultimately create value from the C1 fungal genome. We also intend to leverage the platform developed on this project for genomic research at Scripps as well."