Funding Supports Bioscience Pioneer's Continued Research of
Switchgrass as a Potential Pathway for Direct Production
of High-valued Biobased Products
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Metabolix,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX), a bioscience company focused on developing
clean, sustainable solutions for plastics, chemicals and energy, today
announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the
company a $6 million grant. The grant is part of the Obama
administration's $42 million research and development project fund to
support the production of biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased
products. Metabolix will use the funding to continue research of
engineered switchgrass in an effort to provide a sustainable alternative
to petroleum feedstocks.
For several years, Metabolix has advanced its biomass biorefinery
platform using switchgrass. Under the new grant agreement, the company
plans to attempt to further enhance expression of polyhydroxyalkanoates
(PHAs) in switchgrass to allow co-production of chemicals and densified
biomass. In addition to attempting to produce densified biomass with
transportation and fuel properties closely matching coal, Metabolix also
plans to further develop and scale-up its selective thermolysis process
which utilizes moderate temperature to recover a new platform chemical
directly from PHA containing switchgrass. This platform chemical,
crotonic acid, can be readily converted through simple known chemical
conversion steps to a range of commodity chemical intermediates
including butanol and propylene.
"The DOE funding is another exciting step towards creating a bioenergy
infrastructure that has the potential to reduce our dependence on
foreign oil and increase economic development in America," said Oliver
Peoples, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and vice president of Research
and Development at Metabolix.
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 now
developing and commercializing Mirel™, a family of high performance
bioplastics, which are biobased and biodegradable alternatives to many
petroleum-based plastics, through Telles, a joint venture between
Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland Company. Metabolix is also
developing biosourced industrial chemicals and a proprietary platform
technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals and energy, from crops
such as switchgrass, oilseeds and sugarcane. For more information,
please visit http://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
expectations for Metabolix research and development programs, including
with respect to switchgrass and Mirel, 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. Metabolix assumes
no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in
this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.
Media:
Schwartz Communications
Keith Giannini or Jen Barlow,
781-684-0770
metabolix@schwartzcomm.com
or
Investors:
ICR
James
Palczynski, 203-682-8229
james.palczynski@icrinc.com
Source: Metabolix, Inc.
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