Codexis signs agreement with Shell

Codexis, Inc., and Shell recently signed an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement; under the terms of the agreement, Shell will negotiate exclusively with Codexis through September 1, 2012, the terms of a new agreement which would allow Shell to grant to the company specific rights and licenses in the biofuels field which would include the development and sale of cellulase enzymes to third parties in all countries, except Brazil. The agreement also stipulates that Codexis has exclusive rights to commercialize its cellulase enzyme technology in all other fields. Codexis is a developer of cost-effective processes for the production of biofuels, bio-based chemicals, as well as pharmaceuticals.
“Currently, Codexis’ cellulase enzyme technology can only be commercialized in the advanced biofuels field through Shell and its affiliates. If we finalize a new agreement with Shell as we currently anticipate, the rest of the world’s second-generation biofuels producers will now also be available as target customers for our cost effective cellulase enzyme technology,” said John Nicols, president and chief executive officer of Codexis. (July 16, 2012)