Degussa establishes new research centre for "white biotechnology"

A new centre for "white biotechnology" – The Science to Business Center Bio – established by speciality chemicals company Degussa in Germany, opened for business at the beginning of this month.

Working in state-of-the-art laboratories and pilot plants at the centre, around 60 scientists will collaborate with co-operation partners from universities and industry to develop new biotechnology products and processes based on natural raw materials. The company will be investing e50m in the new Science to Business Center Bio over the next five years, according to Degussa management board chairman Professor Utz-Hellmuth Felcht. The investment will systematically expand the research infrastructure for white biotechnology in the North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) region, which has always been strong, moving it in the direction of industrial implementation, he said. Over the past few years, Degussa has built up key competencies in the area of bioprocesses — aided through the use of the Biotechnology and ProFerm project houses. With these skills serving as the platform, it will now develop highly efficient processes in the Science to Business Center Bio. Bioactive products form the second key focus of innovation: examples of these are new forms of drug delivery systems aimed at transporting the active ingredients of medicines and cosmetics effectively. Degussa already uses new bioprocesses to manufacture pharmaceutical amino acids for infusion solutions, amino acids for animal nutrition, special building blocks for medications and active ingredients for creams and lotions. The aim of the new centre is to continue to expand the company's strong position in white biotechnology, while simultaneously creating new jobs in the processing industry. Degussa's science to business concept aims to significantly accelerate the path from science to success in the marketplace. It is based on integrating all the research and development operations along the value chain under one roof — from basic research to product development and pilot production. White biotechnology — also known as industrial biotechnology — is the term used to describe sustained, industrial manufacturing processes that are primarily based on natural, biological resources. It covers fermentative and enzymatic processes that offer both economically and ecologically promising alternatives to chemical-physical processes. New findings, particularly in genome research and in system biology, are currently lending enormous impetus to the area, which demands interdisciplinary collaboration between chemists, molecular biologists, geneticists, microbiologists, information technology experts and process engineers.