Here’s another example of the bioeconomy stepping up in the COVID-19 fight: BIO member Amyris is using synthetic biology to create safe and sustainable hand sanitizer, reports Biofuels Digest.
Using synthetic biology, Amyris turns renewable sugarcane into a replica of squalene, a skin moisturizer our bodies create naturally.
The product, called squalane (with an “a” instead of an “e”), is used in beauty and baby products—but now, Amyris is manufacturing safe, sustainable, moisturizing, baby-safe hand sanitizer. The company uses plants to make the ingredient instead of collecting from sharks' livers—a common source. They’ll donate some to front-line medical workers, too.
They’re also helping vaccine R&D, having completed “initial testing of a leading vaccine adjuvant,” which is “an ingredient used in some vaccines that helps create a stronger immune response in people receiving the vaccine,” making the vaccine work better, as the CDC explains.
What they’re saying: “Our hand sanitizer is a great example of swiftly applying our market-leading squalane moisturizer to an immediate need. We expect to produce an estimated 30,000 units in the first weeks and to expand production quickly,” says Amyris President and CEO John Melo. “Building on our historical success with an antimalarial treatment, we are currently reviewing several of our fermentation-based molecules for potential efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19. We are quickly moving several of these into testing.”
This is another example of the importance of the entire bioeconomy—and how the biotech industry holds the keys to solutions ranging from treating and stopping the vaccine to ensuring people have the supplies they need in this challenging time.
Want to get your hands on the sanitizer? Visit www.pipettebaby.com.
More Agriculture & Environment News:
Reuters: U.S. EPA waives fuel requirements, extends biofuel deadline to help refineries
“Refiners are typically required to prove their compliance by March 31, but facilities with less than 75,000 barrels of daily processing capacity will be given extensions. [EPA Administrator] Wheeler said the decision was related to ongoing litigation over the agency’s Small Refinery Exemption Program.”
The New York Times: For farmers, stimulus bill means subsidies continue to flow
“The law provides [Agriculture Secretary Sonny] Perdue with $9.5 billion to support farmers, including livestock producers, suppliers of farm markets and producers of specialty crops, and $14 billion in borrowing authority to replenish the fund he used to make trade-related payments to farmers in the past two years.”