OXIPRO partner Biocatalysts Ltd has successfully completed the acquisition of Breatec, WeissBioTech and Biosun from its parent company BRAIN Biotech AG, creating the Bioproducts division under the Biocatalysts brand. The completion of these acquisitions enhances the ability to capitalise on synergies within the BRAIN group and intensifies focus on strong growth in its core European and North American markets.
Biocatalysts Ltd is a specialist enzyme company based in the UK and focussed on the discovery, development and manufacture of enzymes. Its catalysts products and services deliver enzyme innovation across numerous market sectors including food, pharma, healthcare, pharma and personal care. At the heart of Biocatalysts capabilities are its enzyme discovery platforms based on metagenomics; this is facilitated by a proprietary software program called MetXtraTM that discovers new enzyme sequences based on their predicted functional characteristics coupled with their probability for successful production in large scale manufacturing plant.
The main roles of BIOCATALYSTS within OXIPRO project are:
• Contributing to the development of the OXIPRO stakeholder community and helping steer the OXIPRO project towards industrial relevance
• Supporting the cloning of enzymes into various hosts including E.coli and Pichia pastoris. Specifically, BIOCATALYSTS is providing support through its proprietary MetXtraTM platform that helps predict the optimal expression systems to be used for different enzyme types and sequences. Oxidoreductases are being up-scaled in order to produce quantities of enzyme for testing within the project.
• Contributing to the in silico bioprospecting for the identification of requirement-enhanced oxidoreductases enzyme
This latest acquisition means that Biocatalysts Ltd is now even better positioned to continue to drive profitable growth and expansion within the Food, Beverage, and Life Science industries. The focused application capability, scale-up and fermentation expertise within the group, combined with the benefits of shared services will further increase responsiveness to meet ever-changing industry needs and position Biocatalysts Ltd as the enzyme partner of choice. As a member of the BRAIN Group, it offers partners best-in-class enzyme metagenome discovery as well as strain and protein-engineering capabilities.
Rod Sears Black, Managing Director at Biocatalysts Ltd & Executive VP of Bioproducts, commented: “Biocatalysts Ltd is already an established and well-respected supplier of enzyme products within the Dairy, Protein and Flavour industries, as well as a trusted scale up partner for novel enzymes within the Food and Pharmaceutical markets. With the additional expertise and excellent application knowledge from Breatec, WeissBioTech and Biosun, we will use our combined capabilities to further develop the Baking, Beverages and Grain Processing markets.”
More information about Biocatalysts.com