The University of Oxford has spun-out Oxford Biotrans to commercialise chemicals using a patented enzyme technology.
The products Biotrans will produce include natural flavours and fragrances, and looks to edge in to a global market worth $22bn.
Luet Wong, inventor of the enzyme technology, said: “The technique makes use of enzymes to transform commonly available natural extracts into our target flavour and fragrance compounds. The process requires little energy and generates almost no waste in contrast to conventional chemical processes. The real benefit is that the end product is completely natural.”
The company was spun-out by Oxford’s tech transfer unit Isis Innovations, which attracted £600k ($974k) investment from Imperial College London’s commercialisation arm Imperial Innovations, marking the first investment by Imperial into an Isis spin-out.
Will Barton, chairman of Oxford Biotrans, said: “The market for products produced through industrial biotechnology has been projected to grow significantly, with a £12bn opportunity identified for the UK by 2025 from a current baseline of less than £2Bn. With 15 years of R&D experience in enzyme research and a strong management team, we are in a position to lead innovations in this field.”
