Roquette and BRAIN Group agree on production scale-up for protein sweetener
Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients for food, nutrition and health markets, biotech pioneer BRAIN AG, and BRAIN Group company AnalytiCon Discovery have successfully completed the R&D phase for the development of Brazzein. The partners have now signed a contractual agreement for its approval and production.
Brazzein is a protein sweetener which is naturally found in African berries Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon. This high intensive sweetener provides an outstanding sweetening potency still preserving taste profile and sugar free functionality. As part of their newly agreed Joint Development Agreement (JDA), Roquette and BRAIN, will now progress with the approval and industrial scale-up of the protein sweetener in the food and beverage sector. Roquette and BRAIN, who first came together during the DOLCE research program and subsequently decided to further develop this sweetener by fermentation, see very good commercial opportunities for this compound, primarily in the beverage industry.
In preparation for the upcoming production phase, BRAIN has already established a highly potent GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) microorganism for the biotechnological production of the sweetener. GRAS strains are well suited for the approval for the food and beverage sector, and BRAIN has already produced the sweetener at laboratory scale with commercially viable yields.
Dr. Sergio Neves, Head of Nutrition & Health, R&D at Roquette emphasizes: “Having completed the DOLCE R&D program, we are now looking to upscale production, and expect to bring the protein sweetener to the market within the next three to four years. Several top Food & Beverage companies have already shown great interest and aim to support us in this project.”
Adriaan Moelker, CEO BRAIN AG, comments: “We are very pleased with the positive feedback from Roquette and various consumer goods manufacturers. The sweetener, which we are now jointly approving and producing, was developed especially for the beverage industry, which today utilizes approximately 70% of the sugar consumed worldwide in its products. This illustrates the sales potential that this novel sweetener offers. In the fast growing sweetener market, where taste profile and nutrition have to be enhanced in parallel, we expect our new product to strongly meet the increasing consumer demand.”
About Roquette: “Offering the best of nature”
Roquette is a global leader in plant-based ingredients, a pioneer of plant proteins and a leading provider of pharmaceutical excipients. In collaboration with its customers and partners, the group addresses current and future societal challenges by unlocking the potential of nature to offer the best ingredients for food, nutrition and health markets. These ingredients respond to unique and essential needs, enable healthier lifestyles and are critical components of life-saving medicines.
Thanks to a constant drive for innovation and a long-term vision, the group is committed to improving the well-being of millions of people all over the world while taking care of resources and territories.
Roquette currently operates in over 100 countries, has a turnover of around € 3.7 billion and employs 8,670 people worldwide.
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About BRAIN
BRAIN Biotech AG is a leading European supplier of bio-based products and solutions such as enzymes and proteins, microbial production strains, natural compounds and biotechnological solutions for more sustainable industrial processes. The company focuses on the fields of nutrition, health and environment.
BRAIN Biotech AG is the parent company of the international BRAIN Biotech Group. The Group's business activities are divided into three segments: The BioProducts segment comprises the product business with specialty enzymes and other proteins, for which the Group operates fermentation facilities in the United Kingdom and production facilities in continental Europe and the United States. The BioScience segment offers research-intensive custom solutions based on enzyme technology, strain development, bioprocess development and natural product screening. The BioIncubator segment conducts its own R&D projects or those initiated with partners with high value-added potential. A particularly promising incubator project is the development of the Company's own CRISPR-based gene editing technology platform, which is currently being established and expanded by Akribion Genomics (in foundation planning).
Through its own R&D activities, BRAIN Biotech Group is continuously expanding its product portfolio in the field of specialty enzymes and small molecules. The latter are the starting point for screenings, e.g. for novel drug candidates for pharmaceutical applications.
BRAIN Biotech AG has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since February 9, 2016 (ticker symbol: BNN; securities identification number: ISIN DE0005203947 / WKN 520394). The company employs approximately 330 people and generated revenues of EUR 55,3 million in the fiscal year 2022/23.
For more information, please visit: https://www.brain-biotech.com, LinkedIn, Threads and YouTube.
Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current views, expectations, and assumptions of the management of BRAIN Biotech AG, and are based on information currently available to the management. Forward-looking statements are no guarantees of future performance, and entail both known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Numerous factors exist that could influence the future performance of and future developments at BRAIN Biotech AG and the BRAIN Biotech Group. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the general economic and competitive environment, risks associated with capital markets, currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in international and national laws and regulations, in particular with respect to tax laws and regulations, as well as other factors. BRAIN Biotech AG does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.