Amyris Biotechnologies selected for Technology Pioneer 2006 award

Amyris Biotechnologies from California, in the US, has been selected by The World Economic Forum as one of 36 Technology Pioneers for 2006. Named in the Biotechnology/Health category, Amyris was recognised for its work in applying synthetic biology to provide a more cost-effective supply of high-value natural compounds for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and fine chemical applications.

Amyris uses breakthroughs in synthetic biology to produce, in a more cost effective manner, high-value complex molecules that are currently available only in small quantities through extraction from natural sources. It does this by isolating genes from their natural sources and inserting them into industrial microbes which can be produced in a stable, scaleable and cost-efficient manner.

As part of a three-way consortium, Amyris is currently using this technology in a not-for-profit project to address supply and cost constraints that limit the use of the life-saving anti-malarial drug, artemisinin.

The Technology Pioneers program was established in 2000 to provide a new perspective on technological change and is run by the World Economic Forum with Apax Partners and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as Strategic Partners.

To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be truly innovative; it must have a potential long-term impact on business and society; it is expected to show the signs of a long-term market leader; its technology must be proven; and it must have visionary leadership. Previous Technology Pioneers have included: Autonomy, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Encore Software, Google, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Napster.