Symrise join microbial genome research programme

Initially created last year to service the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries the association was formed to develop microbial genome research as a technology for industrial purposes. Germany-based Symrise pledged its support to the R&D programme this week in order to increase its use of molecular biology for use in its work with cosmetic active substances - assessing specific effects that are relevant to cosmetic products. "With global warming and the limited supply of fossil fuels, the field of 'white biotechnology', which is based on microbial genome research, provides an opportunity to replace classic chemical procedures with new ones. ​​"These feature enzymatic or microbial processes, most of which work with sustainable resources,"​ said Dr Horst Surburg, senior vice president of the global scent and care innovations at Symrise. Formed in close partnership with scientific and political partners, such as the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and academic research groups, the association comprises of voluntary contributing members, including BASF, Degussa and Henkel. Symrise hopes to directly benefit the consumer with the new research results through the lure of more innovative products with new or improved cosmetic effects. By using micro processes in cosmetic technical processes products can be created faster and are able to reach the market quickly, generating a fast-paced production turn around for the company. Microbial processes are of such importance that earlier this year Swiss contract manufacturer Lonza merged its US microbial biopharma business activities in a single location, three months after buying Cambrex's biopharma unit. The firm decided to buy the segment to complement its own small- and large-scale microbial biopharma production operations - based in Visp, Switzerland - with Cambrex's mid-scale manufacturing capability. Symrise recently launched a moisturising agent with anti-microbial properties. SymClariol is the latest in a long line of recent launches from the company, pitted for use across the board of personal care products such as shampoos and conditioners, deodorants and moisturising creams.