Verdezyne sells enzyme technology to DuPont

Verdezyne, Inc., a privately-held industrial biotechnology company focused on producing renewable chemicals, announced the sale of its proprietary xylose isomerase technology, enabling the metabolism of 5-carbon sugars, to DuPont Industrial Biosciences, a world leader in science and innovation.

Under the terms of the sale, DuPont has purchased rights to Verdezyne’s patented xylose isomerase technology, covered by U.S. Patent Nos. 8,114,974 and 8,093,037, for use in the rapidly-commercializing biofuels and biochemical fields. This technology allows the fast and complete utilization of biomass-sourced C5 sugars in production of various products of choice.

“Verdezyne’s xylose isomerase technology has been shown to have superior performance compared to alternatives for converting 5-carbon sugar to fuels and chemicals,” said E. William Radany, Ph.D., president and CEO of Verdezyne. “We are pleased that a company of DuPont’s stature recognizes the value of our proprietary technology.”

“Biomass bioprocessing is opening up unique market opportunities across a wide range of DuPont businesses and the Verdezyne technology is a natural fit for the company’s cellulosic portfolio,” said John P. Ranieri, vice president, DuPont Industrial Biosciences. “The addition of this leading xylose isomerase technology further strengthens DuPont’s leadership in biomass derived sugar conversion to biofuels and biochemicals.”