EMERYVILLE, Calif.,
Sept. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRS), a leading synthetic
biotechnology company in Clean Health and Beauty markets through
its consumer brands, and a top supplier of sustainable and natural
ingredients, responds to LAVVAN, Inc.'s (LAVVAN) press release
related to its commencement of a lawsuit against Amyris, Inc.
(Amyris) for patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation
on Thursday, September 10, 2020.
Amyris and LAVVAN entered into a Research, Collaboration and
License Agreement ("RCL Agreement") in March
2019 valued at $300 million in
milestone payments to be made by LAVVAN to Amyris along with a
royalty arrangement based on LAVVAN's commercial sales of
designated biosynthetic cannabinoids. LAVVAN made a single payment
of $10 million in 2019 for delivery
of the first technical milestone.
Amyris wishes to clarify the following points:
- Continued to deploy R&D resources to LAVVAN
program: Amyris has been deploying its R&D resources
in accordance with the RCL Agreement since the start of the
collaboration program with LAVVAN and has continued to work toward
the collaboration deliverables through 2020.
- The excluded market: The RCL Agreement permits
Amyris to conduct its development and commercialization efforts
with regards to cannabinoids in the excluded market as defined
under the RCL Agreement. Amyris will continue to exercise its
rights to bring unique biosynthetic solutions to market within the
boundaries of the RCL Agreement. Amyris will make the RCL
Agreement, as amended, publicly available on a Form 8-K today.
- 2020 revenue expectation not impacted: Amyris
de-risked its 2020 sales revenue expectation by significantly
reducing collaboration revenue anticipated from the RCL Agreement.
Accordingly, Amyris does not expect a negative revenue impact for
the balance of the year caused by the RCL Agreement.
"At Amyris, we have built the leading synthetic biology platform
and have achieved successful commercialization of eight of our ten
scaled-up fermentation molecules through strategic collaborations
and partnerships with some of the world's leading companies," said
John Melo, President and Chief
Executive Officer. "Over the years, we have achieved in excess of
$650 million in proceeds from these
partnerships. Amyris is disappointed that LAVVAN has chosen the
public domain to articulate its position. Amyris has not breached
the RCL Agreement with LAVVAN and we will continue to operate in
accordance with its terms. We will pursue our legal rights to the
fullest extent possible, including a vigorous defense against any
assertions made by LAVVAN."
About Amyris
Amyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) is a science and
technology leader in the research, development and production of
sustainable ingredients for the Clean Health & Beauty and
Flavors & Fragrances markets. Amyris uses an impressive array
of exclusive technologies, including state-of-the-art machine
learning, robotics and artificial intelligence. Our ingredients are
included in over 3,000 products from the world's top brands,
reaching more than 200 million consumers. Amyris is proud to own
three consumer brands - all built around its No Compromise® promise
of clean ingredients: Biossance™ clean beauty skincare, Pipette™
clean baby skincare and Purecane™, a zero-calorie sweetener
naturally derived from sugarcane. For more information, please
visit www.amyris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains
forward-looking statements, and any statements other than
statements of historical fact could be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other
things, statements regarding the aggregate value of milestone
payments under the RCL Agreement, and lack of impact on annual
sales revenue. These statements are based on management's current
expectations, and actual results and future events may differ
materially due to risks and uncertainties, including risks related
to Amyris' liquidity and ability to fund operating and capital
expenses, risks related to potential delays or failures in
development, production and commercialization of products, risks
related to Amyris's reliance on third parties, and other risks
detailed from time to time in filings Amyris makes with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Reports on
Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on
Form 8-K. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information
contained in these forward-looking statements, whether as a result
of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Amyris, the Amyris logo, No Compromise, Biossance, Pipette, and
Purecane are trademarks or registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. in
the U.S. and/or other countries.
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SOURCE Amyris, Inc.