Queensland University of Technology (QUT) start-up company Farmacule Bioindustries will merge with ASX-listed Aquacarotene Limited to create a leading plant biotechnology company.
Farmacule, a molecular farming technology company, will merge with microalgae cultivation specialists Aquacarotene, subject to shareholder approval. The directors signed an agreement last week.
The merged company will focus on delivering improved plant-based systems for the production of bioethanol from sugar cane and plant-made compounds for use in the medical research, nutraceutical and industrial markets.
Farmacule was established in 2001 within QUT's School of Life Sciences in the Faculty of Science (now the Faculty of Science and Technology), to develop Professor James Dale's plant-based production systems research.
The company holds global exploitation rights from QUT for the patented "In-Plant Activation" (INPACT®) technology, together with additional QUT-developed patented technologies applicable to the use of plants as factories for the production of various compounds.
The INPACT® technology was specifically developed by a QUT research team, led by Professor Dale, for the purpose of providing a sophisticated proprietary gene switching and amplification technology which increases the expression and yield in selected plants of novel proteins, enzymes and molecules of interest.
Professor Dale, together with a number of the original inventors of the INPACT® technology are shareholders of Farmacule and as a team continue to undertake research and development at QUT on behalf of Farmacule.
Professor Dale holds the role of Chief Scientific Officer at Farmacule, and will continue in this role within the new company as part of the merger.
Farmacule chairman Mel Bridges (also to be chairman of the merged company) said the combination of Farmacule and Aquacarotene would accelerate the delivery of high-end valuable products such as biofuels from sugarcane.
"The merger of Aquacarotene and Farmacule paves the way to build a very successful global plant biotechnology company," Mr Bridges said.
Mr Michael Finney, chief executive officer of QUT's commercialisation company, bluebox, and a director of Farmacule, said the merger was a milestone in the company's development, and reflected the high quality of QUT research.
"When the decision was made to create a start-up company based on QUT-developed intellectual property nine years ago, none of the parties involved could have conceived that that company, Farmacule, would come this far in such a short period of time, as demonstrated firstly through the research partnership with Syngenta, and now with the Aquacarotene merger."
In 2007 Farmacule entered into a partnership with Syngenta, the world's largest agribusiness company, bluebox, and the Queensland State Government, to set up the Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuel Development to develop cellulosic bioethanol and biofuels derived from sugarcane.
Media contacts:
Elizabeth Allen, QUT media officer, on 07 3138 4494 or e1.allen@qut.edu.au
Sarah Ward, bluebox marketing and IP coordinator, on 07 3138 9413 or s.ward@qutbluebox.com.au
