Sumitomo Chemical has invested US $30 million in Conagen, a U.S. biotechnology company. Through this investment, Sumitomo Chemical aims to further promote its strategic business alliance with Conagen and develop innovative high functional products and processes by way of synthetic biology.

 

“We are enthused to work with Conagen. Our strategic partnership is an excellent example of our commitment to sustainability. Conagen has a history of rapidly developing bio-products for commercialization while simultaneously developing extensive technology platforms. We look forward to supporting their newest innovations in particular areas,” said Hiroshi Ueda, vice president, Sumitomo Chemical.

 

“We are excited to partner with Sumitomo Chemical to accelerate our growth as a company as they provide deep industrial knowledge, a history of innovation in diverse areas such healthcare, environment, food, and resources and energy to contribute to solve global issues, as well as world class manufacturing expertise,” said Conagen’s Co-founder and CEO Dr. Oliver Yu.

 

Sumitomo Chemical has conducted joint research with Conagen since 2018 on the biosynthesis of existing chemicals. Based on the results of the research, last year Sumitomo Chemical made an investment in SweeGen, which is part of a business group centered on Conagen. In these ways, Sumitomo Chemical has been strengthening its collaborative relationship with Conagen.

 

In recent years, we have witnessed more and more commercialization of synthetic biology as a result of rapid advances in technology through the fusion of biotechnology and digital technology. With this progress, Sumitomo Chemical believes that the creation of new businesses can be accelerated by combining synthetic biology with chemical technology, as this helps develop highly-efficient, clean, and energy-saving processes, as well as highly functional products that are difficult to manufacture through chemical synthesis alone. Meanwhile, Conagen also desires strategic partnerships with chemical companies having common platform technologies, such as downstream processes and safety assessment technologies, as well as application know-how, since such partnerships enable the commercialization of products in new fields beyond functional food ingredients and flavors and fragrances. This mutual interest has led to the investment by Sumitomo Chemical. Both companies will jointly explore research projects, strengthen their technological base by mutually dispatching researchers, and develop innovative technologies and processes.