Benzinga | Aug 2, 2021 08:09AM EDT

Codexis, Kalsec Announce Expanded Collaboration For Supply Of Novel Enzyme To Sustainably Produce Natural Clean-Label Beverage Ingredient; Terms Not Disclosed

Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDXS), a leading enzyme engineering company enabling the promise of synthetic biology, and Kalsec, Inc., a leading global producer of natural spice and herb extracts, colors, food protection and hop extracts for the food and beverage industry, announced that the companies have expanded their research collaboration and entered into an exclusive supply agreement for a novel enzyme to produce Kalsec's newest natural hop acid.



Codexis' latest novel performance enzyme product, developed in close collaboration with Kalsec's innovation team, will enable natural, biocatalytic production of new, advanced hop products. Using Codexis' CodeEvolver(r) technology platform, the new enzyme was engineered for improved functionality, stability and efficiency, delivering consistent hop characteristics and taste that offer unique advantages for final beverage products. The enzyme is expected to enable commercial-scale production of Kalsec's newest natural hop acid by early 2022.

"Kalsec is a pioneer in the development of advanced hop products, and we continually seek innovative solutions to deliver value to our customers and the end consumer," said Scott Nykaza, Chief Executive Officer of Kalsec. "This unique enzyme will enable the product differentiation and benefits our customers need to meet the market demand for high performing hop products. We are very excited to expand our partnership with Codexis to drive innovation through new, sustainable bioprocesses that capture the best that nature has to offer."

"We are delighted to grow our collaboration with Kalsec to include the commercialization of this novel enzyme for their hop extracts business, as well as the development of additional new enzyme products," said John Nicols, President and Chief Executive Officer of Codexis. "Our CodeEvolver(r) platform is unrivaled in its ability to discover and design ideal, high performance enzymes that enable our partners to dramatically reduce the cost and increase the sustainability of manufacturing their products. Leveraging this engineering prowess to support innovative, sustainable and clean-label products for our food and beverage ingredients customers is core to our mission of creating enzymes that make a difference, for the health of people and the planet."

Kalsec's advanced hop products include HopRival(r) natural hop extracts, Kettle Aroma Extracts, hop acids, high purity hop oils, and special flavorings and custom blends that provide sensory differentiators and brewing advantages to the global brewing industry.