Amyris, Sanofi: Low-cost, biobased malaria treatment heads for commercial production

April 11, 2013 |

In California, scientists from Amyris announced a breakthrough in the field of synthetic biology that allows for the production of a key precursor to Artemisinin, the key ingredient in the world’s most effective and preferred drug in combating malaria. Earlier today, pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced the launch of large-scale industrial production of Artemisinin utilizing Amyris designed strains.

“Sanofi’s commercial launch of this key precursor to life-saving drugs produced with our technology underscores not only the success of Amyris’s synthetic biology platform at scale but also the positive impact this technology can have on our planet,”” said John Melo, President & Chief Executive Officer of Amyris.

Malaria is a preventable disease that affects over a quarter of a billion people and claims the lives of 650,000 people annually, mostly children under the age of five in Africa. Artemisinin, sourced from the wormwood plant, Artemisia annua, has been used for centuries in treating malaria but its availability, cost and quality have been highly volatile.

Category: Fuels

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