February 23, 2012
US FDA supports use of Mascoma Grain Technology
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after completing its scientific review, supports the use of the Mascoma Grain Technology (MGT) as a processing aid in animal feed production, as announced Wednesday (Feb 22) by Mascoma Corporation.
MGT is the first commercial application of Mascoma''s proprietary consolidated bio processing (CBP) technology platform and is designed as a drop-in substitute for conventional fermenting yeast that lowers costs for corn ethanol producers by alleviating the need to purchase most of the expensive enzymes currently used in corn ethanol production.
"We look forward to bringing our innovative CBP technology to market, first with our MGT product, followed by our joint venture with Valero to develop a commercial-scale hardwood cellulosic ethanol facility in Kinross, Michigan. We believe that MGT will improve the economics for corn ethanol producers and expect to generate revenues beginning this quarter," stated Bill Brady, President and CEO of Mascoma. "We are pleased with the FDA''s favourable review of our first MGT product and proud to have achieved this important milestone."
The MGT product is manufactured and distributed by Lallemand Ethanol Technology (LET) and jointly marketed and sold by Mascoma and LET, through a partnership to commercialize MGT in North America. The MGT product will be sold to corn ethanol producers under commercial arrangements that provide Mascoma with a significant portion of the incremental margin generated by the product and commercial scale testing is currently underway at multiple leading corn ethanol producers.
Mascoma is seeking inclusion of its MGT product, a bio engineered yeast, in the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Official Publication for use in dry grind corn ethanol production of distillers co-products for animal feed, in order to maximize the product''s marketability. AAFCO maintains a listing of currently accepted feed ingredient definitions in its Official Publication and any new definitions are approved by AAFCO. The FDA''s Center for Veterinary Medicine has sent a letter to AAFCO in support of establishing a new feed ingredient definition for MGT, based on a favourable review of the safety and utility of the product. Mascoma believes that its MGT product is the first bioengineered yeast that has gained the FDA''s acceptance for use in corn ethanol production of distillers'' co-products for animal feed.
Mascoma is also developing future generations of its MGT product that are expected to improve ethanol yields in addition to reducing most of the need for exogenous enzymes, further lowering production costs and potentially increasing revenue for corn ethanol producers. Pilot-scale test runs of the next generation MGT product, as conducted by ICM, Inc., the leading provider of engineering services to the ethanol industry, demonstrated ethanol yield improvements of up to 3.4% and Mascoma expects further ethanol yield improvements through additional research and development efforts.
Mascoma Corporation is a renewable fuels company that has developed innovative technology for the low-cost conversion of abundant biomass. Using its proprietary consolidated bio processing, or CBP, technology platform, Mascoma has developed bioengineered yeasts and other microorganisms to reduce costs and improve yields in the production of renewable fuels and chemicals. Mascoma''s first commercial application of its CBP technology is its Mascoma Grain Technology, or MGT(TM), yeast product, which is a drop-in substitute for existing yeasts designed to improve the economics of corn-based ethanol production. Mascoma is pursuing other commercial applications of its CBP technology and is working with collaborators to develop and construct commercial scale facilities to convert hardwood pulpwood to cellulosic ethanol.