Cologne, Germany location enables leading bioscience company to
directly access the European market for biopolymers and renewable
chemicals
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & COLOGNE, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Metabolix,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX), a bioscience company focused on developing
clean, sustainable solutions for plastics, chemicals and energy, today
announced the opening of its new office in Cologne, Germany. Located in
the BioCampus Cologne life science park, the space will enable the
Company to directly access the European market for biopolymers and will
serve as a coordination point for its regional initiatives in renewable
chemicals. The new office marks the first expansion for Metabolix
outside of the United States and will coordinate business development,
customer service and technical support to business partners and
biopolymer customers based in Europe.
"Countries in the European Union are keenly focused on sustainability
initiatives and are taking decisive steps to drive the adoption of
'green' alternatives to conventional plastics and chemicals," said
Richard P. Eno, president and CEO of Metabolix. "Opening a German office
in an area of thriving life science innovation will put Metabolix in a
central location to serve the needs of our customers and business
partners."
Metabolix's new office opened its doors on April 16. For more than 100
years, plant-based pharmaceuticals have been produced at the site of
BioCampus Cologne which was established in 2002 and is currently one of
the largest biotechnology parks in Germany. The park is home to
approximately 20 life science companies, including Bayer HealthCare,
Sanofi-Aventis and Direvo.
According to the Freedonia Group1, global demand for
bioplastics is expected to more than triple through 2015, with Western
Europe remaining the largest consumer of bioplastic materials. With more
than 700 issued and pending patents, Metabolix has led the industry in
the development of a family of biopolymers called PHAs
(polyhydroxyalkanoates). Metabolix's technology platform has led to the
development of a line of biopolymer resins marketed under the Mirel™ and
Mvera™ brands, as well as the development of biobased industrial
chemicals as "drop in" replacements for petroleum-based products.
The Mirel and Mvera brands share the physical properties of
petroleum-based resins for performance and durability and can be
processed on existing equipment with similar productivity and
post-processing techniques. The difference is that Metabolix biopolymers
display unique biodegradability properties. Mirel is certified to
biodegrade in soil and water environments, as well as home composting
and industrial composting facilities. Mvera is a certified compostable
film grade biopolymer intended for industrial composting. Metabolix
biopolymers represent a distinctive solution as a high-performance
bioplastic alternative. Metabolix's customers have demonstrated use of
PHA biopolymers in agriculture/horticulture, compost and organic waste
diversion, marine/aquatic, sustainable packaging and consumer goods
applications.
In recent months, Metabolix has produced biobased gamma-Butyrolactone
("GBL," a C4 chemical) at semi-works scale (60,000L) and has produced
biobased acrylic acid (a C3 chemical) at lab scale. The Company is
actively moving these processes towards commercial scale targets. According
to industry sources, the current combined global market for conventional
four-carbon ("C4") and three-carbon ("C3") industrial chemicals is
estimated at more than $10 billion annually. C4 chemicals are used in
applications ranging from high-performance engineering plastics to
spandex. C3 chemicals have applications in paints, coatings, diapers and
adhesives.
About Metabolix
Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is an innovation-driven bioscience
company focused on providing sustainable solutions for the world's needs
for plastics, chemicals and energy. The Company is taking a systems
approach, from gene to end product, integrating sophisticated
biotechnology with advanced industrial practice. Metabolix is developing
biosourced industrial chemicals and plastics, as well as a proprietary
platform technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals and energy from
crops.
For more information, please visit www.metabolix.com.
(MBLX-G)
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this release do
not constitute guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned
that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical
statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the
demand for biopolymers and biobased chemicals, constitute
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject
to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated and are detailed in
Metabolix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, which was filed
on March 12, 2012. Metabolix assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking information contained in this press release or with
respect to the announcements described herein.
1The Freedonia Group, "World Bioplastics to 2015," http://www.freedoniagroup.com/DocumentDetails.aspx?DocumentId=563324
Media:
Metabolix
Lynne Brum, 617-682-4693
LBrum@metabolix.com
or
Schwartz
MSL Boston
Keith Giannini or Kirsten Swenson, 781-684-0770
metabolix@schwartzmsl.com
or
Investors:
ICR
James
Palczynski, 203-682-8229
james.palczynski@icrinc.com
Source: Metabolix, Inc.
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