NEWS OF THE W EEK
BASF PURSUES BIO-ACRYLIC ACID PARTNERS: Chemical firm joins
Cargill and Novozymes for biobased polymer precursor
T
HREE GIANTS IN chemicals, agricultural prod
At Novozymes, researchers create enzymes for chemicals production.
NOVOZYM ES
ucts, and industrial enzymes have partnered to commercialize a biological route to acrylic acid. In a joint announcement, BASF, Cargill, and Novo zymes say their target market is diapers and similar products that rely on superabsor bent polymers made from acrylic acid. Acrylic acid is also used to make detergents, paints, and adhe sives. According to the three com panies, the global market for acrylic acid is around 4.5 million tons and is worth $11 billion per year. BASF is the world’s largest producer of acrylic acid. It makes the key monomer by oxidizing propylene derived from the re fining of crude oil. Cargill and Novozymes have been working
COURT UPHOLDS GENE PATENTS BIOTECHNOLOGY: Appeals court
finds that isolated DNA is eligible for patent protection
SHUTTERSTOCK
Court reaffirms that isolated DNA is protected intellectual property.
I
N A VICTORY FOR the biotechnology industry, a
three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reaffirmed its earlier ruling that isolated human genes can be patented. In a 2-1 decision, the court on Aug. 16 upheld Myriad Genetics’ right to hold patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2, two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers. The patents allow the Salt Lake City-based company to be the only U.S. commercial provider of diagnostic tests for hereditary forms of the diseases. A federal judge in 2010 ruled that Myriad’s patents were invalid because human DNA molecules are “prod ucts of nature” and thus ineligible for patent protec tion. The Federal Circuit reversed that decision in 2011. But earlier this year, the Supreme Court ordered the same appeals court to reconsider its findings after the high court ruled in a similar case (Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus) that companies WWW.CEN-ONLIN E .ORG
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on renewable acrylic acid technology since 2008. The collaboration between Novozymes and Car gill has focused on genetically engineering microbes to efficiently convert sugar into 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), an alternative precursor to acrylic acid. BASF’s role in the enlarged collaboration will be to develop a process to convert 3-HP into acrylic acid. This route is also being pursued by start-up OPX Biotechnologies, which is working with Dow Chemical to convert 3-HP into acrylic acid via catalytic dehy dration. In April, OPX reported that it had scaled its production of 3-HP to a 3,000-L fermenter operated by Michigan Biotechnology Institute. Meanwhile, Myriant Technologies, best known for its plans to commercial ize biobased succinic acid, says it will produce bioacrylic acid in sample quantities this year. Partnering with a major chemical firm is a good move, says Mark Morgan, global managing director of renew ables for chemical consultancy IHS Chemicals. Regard less of the starting material, he says, producing acrylic acid is difficult because of the reactivity of the molecule. In principle, making acrylic acid requires just a de hydration step, Morgan says. But, he stresses, produc ers often run into problems during purification, when polymers can form on equipment. “Certainly it is an advantage to have a major player in the acrylics indus try, with a proven track record and its own interest in biotechnology. BASF as partner brings lots of potential benefits.”—MELODY BOMGARDNER
cannot patent observations about natural phenomena. After rehearing the Myriad case, the Federal Circuit said the Supreme Court’s ruling does not apply to iso lated DNA. “Permitting patents on isolated genes does not preempt a law of nature,” Circuit Judge Alan D. Lourie declared in the court’s majority opinion. “The isolated DNA molecules before us are not found in nature,” Lourie wrote. “They are obtained in the laboratory and are man-made, the product of hu man ingenuity. While they are prepared from products of nature, so is every other composition of matter.” The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the original lawsuit challenging Myriad’s patent claims, says the court’s decision “prevents doctors and scien tists from exchanging their ideas and research freely.” Human DNA “does not belong to any one company,” says ACLU staff attorney Chris Hansen. Myriad welcomed the ruling. “Importantly, the court agreed that isolated DNA is a new chemical matter with important utilities which can only exist as the product of human ingenuity,” says Peter D. Meldrum, the com pany’s CEO. The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a trade association, has argued that a ruling against gene patenting could have a devastating effect on future in novation by discouraging investment in expensive and time-consuming research at U.S. universities and bio tech companies.—GLENN HESS
AUGUST 27, 20 1 2
