Fluxome readies for US and PUFA expansion
The eight-year-old company with 32 employees said it had grown too big for its shared site at the Technical University of Denmark campus and the the new location would allow it to consolidate its R&D, administration, and global sales and marketing teams.
The new facility will house a “state-of-the-art laboratory” to speed development of its primary product to date – a resveratrol complex manufactured via a patented process that employs a recombinant baker’s yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
The company said in addition to its move into the PUFAs market, it had several other “products in the pipeline” and was set to open an office in the US as its business grew outside of European borders.
“Fluxome entering into commercialization well ahead of the original schedule is a strong and positive signal from the biotech industry and a statement of Fluxome’s position as a viable greentech company with a strong project pipeline and needed resources and tools for long-term profitable expansion,” the company said.
Fluxome teamed up with US firm, CP Kelco, at the end of last year for production and marketing support, and expects the ingredient will be ready for commercialization by mid-2009.
Fluxome says it produces a high-purity version of resveratrol that is not subject to by-product contamination.
Resveratrol is an antioxidant naturally found in grapes and red wine, mulberries, peanuts and 'knotweed' (polygonum cuspidatum). It has been shown to have positive anti-aging benefits, and has also demonstrated benefits in diabetes, heart health, obesity and some cancers.
For these reasons it has generated significant levels of interest and has been featured on TV shows such as Oprah Winfrey.
Natural sources of resveratrol do not deliver the ingredient at high levels – a bottle of red wine may deliver only 3.1mg of resveratrol per litre whereas studies have shown 30mg per person per day is more effective in delivering benefits.
Food supplements on-market recommend this level of consumption or higher.
There are also synthetic forms resveratrol such as DSM’s Resvida.
