Evonik Industries and BRAIN co-operate

Leading chemical corporations use the "toolbox of nature” and research on microorganisms

Evonik Industries AG, the speciality chemicals company, and BRAIN AG, the white biotechnology company, co-operate in the field of the development of novel microorganisms with unique, selective binding- and adsorption characteristics on selected surfaces.

Within the co-operation the partners pursue the joint objective of identifying and developing suitable microorganisms, which, by using their adsorption properties, will specifically introduce novel physical properties to the selected surfaces.

It is the goal of the partners to integrate the selected microorganisms into an industrial-scale. BRAIN will contribute its expertise in biotechnology, microbiology and the development of pilot processes, while Evonik shall be responsible for the technical implementation and marketing of the products. Financial terms of the collaboration or more detailed technical information are not disclosed.

“For BRAIN, the collaboration announced today is another proof of the versality and creativity of biology and especially of the microorganisms. We are glad, that leading chemical corporations use our “toolbox of nature” with the goal to increase the value of the corporation”, says Dr. Holger Zinke, Chief Executive Officer of BRAIN. ”We see an enormous potential for synergies in the co-operation, allowing us to combine the technologies of BRAIN with Evonik Industries’ development and marketing expertise to excellent effect.”

About BRAIN
BRAIN AG is an industrial “white” biotech company which discovers and develops novel bioactive natural compounds and proprietary enzymes for its partners and customers in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as the food and cosmetics industries. With its unique approach to the discovery and production of new biological compounds and biocatalysts, the company achieves creative solutions by harnessing nature’s untapped biodiversity. Its success is built on its proprietary BioArchive comprising millions of genes, proteins and metabolic pathways from microbial isolates and metagenome libraries. Since its foundation in 1993, BRAIN has entered into over 80 strategic collaborations with nearly all the relevant companies within the chemical industry as e.g. BASF, Ciba, Clariant, Evonik, DSM, Genencor, Henkel, Nutrinova, RWE, Sandoz, Schering, Südzucker and Symrise, to name but a few. Currently, BRAIN employs 102 highly skilled people.

For their groundbreaking industrial biotechnology activities for a sustainable “biologisation of the chemical industry” using nature`s toolbox for industrial processes, BRAIN with its CEO Dr. Holger Zinke received the “Deutschen Umweltpreis 2008” of the “Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt”, DBU.

Source

BRAIN AG, press release, 2012-08-07.

Supplier

BRAIN AG - Biotechnology Research And Information Network AG
Evonik Industries AG

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