EUCODIS Bioscience and Martin-Luther-University Halle, Germany, to Collaborate in the Characterization of Industrial Enzymes

VIENNA, Austria, April 27, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- EUCODIS Bioscience, a developer and manufacturer of customized enzymes, and Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, (MLU), today announced a collaboration agreement for the characterization of novel lipases, phospholipases, and other enzymes that EUCODIS Bioscience is marketing or has under development.

"Given the breadth of potential uses of our enzymes, we would like to provide our customers with comprehensive analytical data on the characteristics of each enzyme in a corresponding range of environments", said Thomas Fischer, CEO of EUCODIS Bioscience, commenting on the collaboration.

"We are extremely pleased that the collaboration with MLU gives us access to the extensive scientific experience and state-of-the-art instrumentation in enzyme research and protein analysis that Professor Bordusa and his team have built at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology. The Institute will serve as a 'center of excellence" for the extensive characterization of our enzymes, and the data generated will be of substantial value to our customers in the short term."

"We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with EUCODIS Bioscience as an industry partner", said Prof. Frank Bordusa, Head of the Department Natural Materials Biochemistry of the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. "Lipases are the most versatile class of commercial enzymes. A thorough characterization of these enzyme in relation to a diverse range of potential substrates and processes is important to industrial users, and scientifically challenging. Our collaboration with an industrial enzyme developer also has the potential to generate further projects of commercial value."

Industrial enzymes are used in extremely diverse applications. Lipases are part of the formulations of laundry detergents, moisturizing cosmetics, bakery mixes, or animal feeds, and enable industrial processes such as the extraction and processing of vegetable oils, or the production of fine chemicals from biomass in a biorefinery, among many other applications.

About MLU's Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology

The Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg is one of the most successful institutes of the university in terms of the recruitment of third-party funds. Currently, research covered by third-party funds includes several Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Research Centers, DFG research groups and activities within several DFG Priority Programs, as well as the application-oriented ProNet-T3 network, which has recently been funded with EUR 11 million by the German Ministry of Science and Education.

The Department of Natural Materials Biochemistry is involved in a number of the aforementioned activities and has long-term experience in the use of hydrolases as biocatalysts for chemical applications. The main field of interest covers the optimization of these enzymes by rational and evolutionary protein engineering including the identification of new enzymes for semisynthesis.

For details on MLU's Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology please visit http://www.biochemtech.uni-halle.de/

About EUCODIS Bioscience

EUCODIS Bioscience develops and customizes enzymes for the chemical, health care, and other industries.

Customers use EUCODIS Bioscience' enzymes to make their manufacturing processes more efficient and cleaner, and to introduce products with superior properties. The Company's technology of in vivo-recombination is a proven tool for the development of enzymes that perform to customers' specific requirements.

Enzymes are biological catalysts. They are at the center of industrial, or "white" biotechnology, a fast growing industry segment with sales in excess of EUR100 billion.

Led by an experienced management team, EUCODIS Bioscience is backed by Austrian and German institutional venture capital funds, founders, and private investors. The Company is headquartered in Austria, Europe, with a subsidiary in Germany.

    For more information, please visit http://www.eucodisbioscience.com

    Company contact EUCODIS Bioscience:
    Thomas Fischer, MBA
    CEO
    EUCODIS Bioscience
    Campus Vienna Biocenter II
    Viehmarktgasse 2 a/ 2 OG
    A-1030 Vienna
    AUSTRIA
    +43-1-8900804
    [email protected]

    Media contact EUCODIS Bioscience:
    Frank Butschbacher
    Investor Relations & Communications
    http://www.butschbacher.net
    +43-650-7844940
    [email protected]

SOURCE EUCODIS Bioscience