JUPITER, Fla., June 9 Dyadic International, Inc. (Pink Sheets: DYAI) ("Dyadic"), a leading biotechnology company focused on the development and manufacture of bioproducts based on its cutting-edge C1 technology to address the needs of multi-billion dollar markets for biofuels, biotherapeutics and industrial enzymes, announced today that it has signed a non-binding term sheet with EnGen Bio, Inc. ("EnGen Bio") for a potential outlicense, on an exclusive worldwide basis, of Dyadic's C1 platform technology for applications in biopharmaceutical drug development. Under the terms of the proposed licensing transaction outlined in the term sheet, Dyadic is eligible to receive a substantial equity stake in EnGen Bio which will be led by Mark R. Alfenito, Ph.D. The deal is consistent with Dyadic's stated goal of leveraging and monetizing its technology platform through development and commercialization partnerships. The closing of the proposed licensing transaction is subject to completion of due diligence, negotiation of mutually satisfactory legal agreements and respective board approvals.
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Dyadic's President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Emalfarb, stated, "We are very pleased to enter into this term sheet and will work diligently toward finalizing a license agreement with EnGen Bio. Consistent with Dyadic's long stated goal of leveraging its technologies into the biopharmaceutical market, our proposed license to EnGen Bio represents a tremendous opportunity for Dyadic to apply its C1 technology to facilitate the development of biotherapeutics on a larger, faster and more economical scale. Dr. Alfenito's unique combination of scientific and business skills make him an ideal partner to lead the development and monetization of Dyadic's C1 technology in the biopharmaceutical arena. In fact, we are already pursuing and evaluating various partnerships and financing opportunities for EnGen Bio."
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President and CEO of EnGen Bio, Mark Alfenito, stated, "Dyadic could not have set the stage better for EnGen Bio's success, having removed nearly all of the scientific risk through the great work they have done over the years to exploit C1 for industrial enzymes and biofuels. I look forward to building a team to expeditiously complete the re-engineering of C1 for biopharmaceuticals, so that we can revolutionize the development and manufacture of these expensive drugs."
Dr. Richard Lerner, President of The Scripps Research Institute, one of the country's largest, private, non-profit research organizations, and Chairman of Dyadic's Scientific Advisory Board, stated, "I look forward to working with Dyadic and EnGen Bio to unlock the value of Dyadic's C1 technology for use in the biopharmaceutical industry. Mark Alfenito is an experienced scientist and business professional who has the necessary expertise, relationships and track record to make EnGen Bio a commercial success."
EnGen Bio's goal is to develop and commercialize novel and follow-on biologics, including therapeutic proteins, vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, based upon Dyadic's patented C1 fungal expression system which offers significant advantages over other commercially utilized expression systems in terms of cost, scalability and yield. The C1 system has already been validated in non-biopharmaceutical applications (industrial enzymes and biofuels) through partnerships with key players such as Codexis, Inc. and Abengoa Bioenergy. Dyadic and EnGen Bio believe that with relatively minor engineering, the C1 technology will be readily adaptable for the discovery, development and production of biological products. If successful, this will lead to significant enhancements in production efficiencies of currently marketed drugs, thereby eliminating bottlenecks currently faced by the pharmaceutical industry. EnGen Bio intends to aggressively pursue corporate and research partnerships to fully exploit the scientific and commercial potential of the C1 technology in biopharmaceutical applications.
EnGen Bio will be led by a seasoned management team headed by Mark R. Alfenito, Ph.D. During his professional career, Dr. Alfenito has demonstrated his entrepreneurial abilities through his creation and building of several successful biotechnology companies. He has been responsible for over $600 million of transactions within the pharmaceutical industry including in-licensing and out-licensing of intellectual property, technology platforms and drug compounds as well as mergers and acquisitions. For the past nine years, Dr. Alfenito was a founder of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("KaloBios"), a privately held therapeutic monoclonal antibody company, where he built a world-class antibody development team whose prior experience included the development of over 10 percent of the therapeutic antibodies on the market. The team of 50 people completed eight clinical trials in less than three years, brought two first-in-class drugs to Phase IIb, and completed two large drug and technology outlicenses to major pharmaceutical companies.
Prior to KaloBios, Dr. Alfenito founded and was President of Target Quest, a privately held human antibody therapeutics company, which merged with the then privately held Dyax Corp., where Dr. Alfenito continued on as Vice President of Corporate Development following their initial public offering. Dr. Alfenito also served as Associate Director of Corporate Development at the then publicly traded genomics company, Hyseq Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Alfenito is well published and is the inventor on several issued and licensed patents. He holds a B.S. degree from Cornell University, an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University and conducted his postdoctoral work at Stanford University.
About Dyadic
Dyadic is a leading-edge early-stage biotechnology company that uses its patented and proprietary technologies to conduct research, development and commercial activities for the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of products and solutions for the bioenergy, industrial enzyme and biopharmaceutical industries. Please visit Dyadic's website at www.dyadic.com.
Cautionary Statement for Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Dyadic's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Dyadic expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Dyadic International, Inc.
