EMERYVILLE, Calif.,
July 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRS), a leading synthetic
biotechnology company active in the Clean Health and Beauty markets
through its consumer brands, and a top supplier of sustainable and
natural ingredients, today announced that it has signed an
exclusive license with Nant Africa,
LLC relating to the development and use of the RNA COVID vaccine
Amyris developed in coordination with the Infectious Disease
Research Institute (IDRI).
The license and collaboration with Nant
Africa is expected to generate several million dollars in
near term upfront and milestone payments, and also includes long
term royalties for the use of the Amyris and IDRI technology on the
African continent. The license includes the funding of human
clinical trials, which upon successful completion are expected to
be followed by the production and scaling of the vaccine in
South Africa with a target of
reaching patients by the end of this year.
Amyris' partnership with Nant
Africa is of significant value to Amyris as it provides the
fastest path to market for the Amyris and IDRI RNA technology.
Pre-clinical data has demonstrated that this RNA Vaccine technology
generates comparable immunity to the currently authorized RNA
vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, without the need for cold chain
logistics and with a production cost that is estimated to be around
10X lower. This RNA platform is positioned to make potent, safe and
durable COVID vaccines available to all people and not just wealthy
countries. Amyris continues to hold options to license exclusive
use of this RNA technology for selected oncology and other target
therapies.
"Our mission to make the world's leading treatments accessible
to all people started with the invention of our Malaria treatment
and we are excited to once again make a difference on the African
continent through our collaboration with Nant Africa," commented John Melo, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Amyris. "This partnership accelerates the development of our RNA
technology and we believe this will be a critical differentiator
globally to make our promising RNA therapies accessible to all,"
continued Melo. "This is Amyris' first major license in pharma and
we expect to build on this momentum as we continue to apply our
technology and resources to making our planet healthier and add
vaccines and therapeutics to the strong traction we are
experiencing with our ingredients and consumer brands."
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 and operate a family of
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 Amyris entering into a license with
Nant Africa, LLC; proceeding with
human clinical trials, expectations regarding the path to market
for the Amyris and IDRI RNA technology; the results from
pre-clinical data regarding immunity, the need for cold chain
logistics and expected production costs and availability of the
vaccine to all people. 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 delays or failures in development, regulatory approval,
production and commercialization of products; risks related to
Amyris's reliance on third parties (including in the supply chain);
Amyris's liquidity and ability to fund operating and capital
expenses; 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.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amyris-completes-first-major-license-for-leading-rna-vaccine-advancing-technology-to-human-trials-301324193.html
SOURCE Amyris, Inc.