“With our advanced cell-free biomanufacturing platform, we’re able to produce color ingredients that are simply not possible with traditional fermentation-based biomanufacturing,” explains Joshua Britton, CEO of Debut Biotechnology, in a recent media release about the deal.
Cell-free biotechnology is what California-based Debut is known for. The company endeavors to make biomanufacturing more efficient than popular fermentation-style biotech. By making use of only select parts of (a microorganism’s) cells, the platform eliminates some of the spent-organism waste as well as feedstock waste. The platform relies mostly on enzymes as the engines of production.
“Our colors are naturally-derived with a fraction of the inputs—less waste and energy—and without the use of petrochemicals,” adds Britton, noting that “With this approach, we’re able to take on a level of complexity that creates whole new possibilities for the color ingredient landscape across industries.”
Partnering with a pigments specialist to explore new markets
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, DIC is a chemicals company serving the packaging and graphics industry with inks; resins and coatings for consumer goods, electronics infrastructure applications, and more; pigments for display as well as for the cosmetics industry. Which explains why Britton calls DIC “established leaders in the color ingredients industry.”
The Debut Biotechnology – DIC deal is an R&D deal, linking the two companies in a project to develop what are being called “natural pigments” for both the food and cosmetics industries.
