Metabolix, a bioscience company, has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Antibioticos S.A. for Mirel biopolymer resin production at its manufacturing facility in Leon, Spain.
As per the terms of the LOI, Metabolix will conduct a series of validation production runs to demonstrate fermentation and recovery of Mirel biopolymer resin on full production-scale equipment at Antibioticos.
Metabolix president and chief executive officer Richard Eno said, "We are impressed with the track record, technical expertise and facilities at Antibioticos, and believe their equipment is well-suited to the manufacturing process used to produce Mirel biopolymers at commercial scale."
The companies plan to enter into a definitive contract manufacturing agreement for Mirel biopolymers based upon the validation production runs as well as completion of economic and engineering feasibility studies.
The Mirel biopolymer resin produced during the validation production runs will be owned by Metabolix.
Antibioticos president Daniele Pucci Di Benisichi said the agreement brings together the company's experience and technical capacity with Metabolix's technology and processes in a way that supports the values and vision of both companies.
"The first step of our work with Metabolix will be to validate their technology in our facility. Then, we'll look ahead to creating a contract manufacturing agreement," Daniele Pucci Di Benisichi added.
Metabolix's biopolymers are based on polyhydroxyalkanoates which occur naturally in micro-organisms and plants. Mirel biopolymers are biobased, uniquely biodegradable, and suitable for a range of product applications.
