54.3 F
San Diego
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

Senomyx to Commercialize Sugar Enhancer

SENOMYX INC.

Chairman and CEO: Kent Snyder.

Revenue: $28.7 million in 2010; $15.5 million in 2009.

Net loss: $10.7 million in 2010; $26.2 million in 2009.

No. of local employees: 117.

Headquarters: University Towne Center area of San Diego.

Year founded: 1998.

Stock symbol and exchange: SNMX on Nasdaq.

Company description: Uses taste receptor assays and screening technologies to develop flavor ingredients for food and beverage industries.

Senomyx Inc., the San Diego-based developer of flavor ingredients, is making headway on its program to help food and beverage companies reduce the amount of sugar and artificial sweeteners in their products.

Through a partnership with Firmenich SA, the world’s largest privately owned fragrance and flavor company, Senomyx is awaiting the first commercial order of an ingredient called S6973, which enhances the sweetness of sucrose, or table sugar.

The deal, expected during the second quarter, will be with “a major consumer products company,” said Senomyx Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kent Snyder. Snyder declined to name the company or expectations for royalty payments.

The ingredient — which allows food and beverage makers to reduce sugar in their products by up to 50 percent — can be used in most any product that contains sugar, from dairy products to baked goods, noted Gwen Rosenberg, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications.

However, she could not say what specific products would feature the ingredient, citing confidentiality agreements with Firmenich, a Swiss company.

For investors, this deal can’t come too soon, says Doug Thomas, a food and beverage analyst with JET Investment Research Inc., in Lancaster, Pa. The investment community is eager to see evidence that Senomyx’s sucrose enhancer will be commercialized, “and it looks like that’s what’s going to happen in pretty short order,” he said.

Ingredients Being Sold

Senomyx has other ingredients that are already being sold commercially in various countries through Firmenich, Nestlé SA, and Ajinomoto Co. Inc. Rosenberg said that the names of the products are never disclosed due to confidentiality. In each case, the corporate partners are responsible for manufacturing and marketing; Senomyx receives upfront payment and royalties on sales.

Senomyx revenues rose last year to $28.7 million — a major improvement over $15.5 million in 2009. The boost came in part from a $30 million upfront payment from PepsiCo Inc. as part of a new collaboration announced in August 2010. PepsiCo also committed to providing funding for research and development through 2014.

Still Senomyx is not turning a profit. Last year it posted a net loss of $10.7 million, and Snyder hasn’t given projections for when the company will see positive income.

In the meantime, Senomyx is pushing ahead on its promising Sweet Taste Program, which also includes another key product that enhances the sweetness of sucralose, commonly known as Splenda.

Firmenich is working as the commercial arm for this ingredient, as well.

This enhancer, called S2383, is used to reduce the amount of sucralose by up to 75 percent — thus, lowering food and beverage production costs. Senomyx in late April won the U.S. patent for the ingredient.

In addition, Senomyx is working on new ingredients that amplify the sweet taste of fructose, a component of high-fructose corn syrup.

Enhancing the Sweet Taste

Snyder said the sweet enhancers work with sweet taste cells, which are found in taste buds. Sweet taste receptors are located on the tip of those cells. Usually, when the sugar is low in a food or drink, only some receptors will bond with the sugar and the result is a weak sweet taste. But when a Senomyx enhancer is added, the majority of the receptors bond with sugar, resulting in a potent sweet taste.

In addition to its sweet program, Senomyx also is pursuing new flavor ingredients in the savory, salt, and cool taste areas, as well as ingredients that block bitter taste. “We borrow the tools from the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industry to discover new flavor ingredients,” Snyder said. “Our facilities look very similar, but our work differs in that we’re trying to find flavor ingredients that are very specific to taste receptors on the tongue.”

Thomas said the demand for such science is growing by the day. “You can’t pick up a newspaper without seeing some kind of coverage of the obesity epidemic,” he said. “Food companies are very publicly focused on reducing fat, sugar and salt. But consumers don’t want to buy things that taste bad.”

Beyond health and wellness, there’s also the all-important issue of cost savings. “In the last six months, raw materials prices have risen sharply, including sugar and sugar substitutes,” he said. “That could conceivably be a pretty big catalyst,” for Senomyx’s growth.

Kelly Quigley is a freelance writer for the San Diego Business Journal.

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

Oberon Eyes Europe for Renewable DME

Leaders of Influence in Law 2024

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-