Public Funding for Oxford Biotrans Limited

The insect repellent field is dominated by synthetic chemical solutions that have a high environmental impact (such as DEET). Many natural compounds have been shown to be active in this arena, but typically are challenging to produce economically at scale, and/or do not have the same efficacy. One natural compound is nootkatone, the scent and flavour of grapefruit, which has recently been registered by the EPA as an active repellent of mosquitoes, ticks and bedbugs (July 2020). Nootkatone is a natural, food-safe compound currently used in the flavour and fragrance industry, and which as a repellent would have a low impact on the environment. The challenge with using this compound in this market is its high price and relative supply scarcity; even synthetic nootkatone, produced via a process with high environmental impact is priced at $2,000/kg, while natural nootkatone is \>$3,000/kg, and less than 20 tonnes/year are produced. Oxford Biotrans has developed a novel biotechnological production route to this natural compound and is currently selling it competitively as a flavour and fragrance ingredient. However, it is now looking to reduce production costs to enable deployment of nootkatone as a low-impact, sustainable, natural insect repellent for fighting disease and agricultural vectors.

"The compounds used in the flavour and fragrance (F&F) and agrochemical (such as pesticides) industry today are produced through two main routes. Either through extraction from plant material, much of which is endangered or at very low concentrations, but produces natural compounds, or using synthetic means - multi-step traditional chemistry that typically produces high levels of waste and environmental impact (such as strong acids, heavy metals, high temperatures / energy usage and petrochemical-based feedstock). Industrial Biotechnology provides a third route - using enzymes as biocatalysts to convert natural compounds into products found in enzymes. There is a high level of consumer-led demand for natural, or 'green', environmentally friendly F&F, fine-chemical and agrochemical components, which significantly outstrips the ability of natural sources and indeed conventional synthetic routes to sustainably provide. Oxford Biotrans (OB) is leading the way in creating industrial biotechnology routes to meet these needs. Through the use of enzyme biocatalysts, derived from fermentation (like brewing), the production of these high value chemicals can be achieved, in a green, sustainable manner. However, the state-of-the-art biotransformation methods, batch processes (similar to brewery fermentation), restricts the implementation of this technology to very highly priced compounds. This project aims to innovate OB's current commercial batch process for the production of nootkatone, the scent and flavour of grapefruit, into a continuous flow process, with the aim of increasing the performance of the reaction and reducing the reaction time, thus driving down the cost of production. This is turn will enable the technology to be rolled out across many industries, to meet a host of compounds at economic scale."

The compounds used in the flavour and fragrance (F&F) and agrochemical (such as pesticides) industry today are produced through two main routes. Either through extraction from plant material, much of which is endangered or at very low concentrations, but produces natural compounds, or using synthetic means - multi-step traditional chemistry that typically produces high levels of waste and environmental impact (such as strong acids, heavy metals, high temperatures / energy usage and petrochemical-based feedstock). There is a high level of consumer-led demand for natural, or ‘green’, environmentally friendly F&F, fine-chemical and agrochemical components, which significantly outstrips the ability of natural sources and indeed conventional synthetic routes to sustainably provide. Oxford Biotrans (OB) is leading the way in creating industrial biotechnology routes to meet these needs. Through the use of enzyme biocatalysts, derived from fermentation (like brewing), the production of these high value chemicals can be achieved, in a green, sustainable manner. However, the state-of-the-art in fermentation methods to produce these complex metalloenzymes restricts the implementation of this technology to very highly priced compounds. This project aims to innovate OB’s current commercial fermentation process, increasing the yield and activity of the enzymes produced to drive down the cost of production. This is turn will enable the technology to be rolled out across many industries, to meet a host of compounds at economic scale.