22 March 2023 - - Japan-based fine chemicals company DIC Corp has started joint business development in the area of polyphenols with California-based biotech startup Debut, a vertically integrated synthetic biology company at the forefront of advanced biomanufacturing technology, the company said.

The polyphenols will be produced using an innovative biotechnology for use in the cosmetics and nutrition industries.

As a first step, DIC and Debut will begin construction of a biomanufacturing facility in the United States in 2023, and will launch global sales for use in the cosmetics field via the DIC Group's distribution network in 2024.

Debut possesses outstanding enzyme discovery and design technologies, as well as an advanced biomanufacturing platform (precision fermentation and cell-free manufacturing) using these enzymes.

These technologies enable the selective and stable production of many rare, naturally derived organic compounds.

In July 2021, DIC and Debut began the joint development of a new method for synthesizing natural pigments.

Working together, the two companies achieved titers one-thousand times higher than those typically achieved by traditional fermentation methods.

DIC and Debut will now jointly produce and sell polyphenols, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, for use in cosmetics and nutrition.

Polyphenols are naturally occurring organic compounds commonly found in plants, from which they are extracted for use in such consumer products as cosmetics, where they are referred to as "natural extracts."

However, despite the promising performance of polyphenols, there have been significant challenges to commercialization due to unacceptably low yields (the amount that can be extracted is often small) and various cost considerations.

Debut's proprietary biomanufacturing technology overcomes these issues and enables the stable production of active ingredients with high levels of purity and concentration.

In comparison with conventional cosmetic ingredients such as vitamin C, initial evaluation with laboratory prototypes has confirmed numerous superior effects on the skin, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties at the genetic level.

In addition, this biomanufacturing technology uses less than one-tenth of the water and land required by the conventional extraction process, and significantly reduces post-extraction waste generation.

The new polyphenols will thus easily meet the expectations of both cosmetic brand owners and consumers for sustainable ingredients and environment-friendly manufacturing processes.

DIC Corp. is one of the world's largest fine chemicals companies and the core of the DIC Group, a multinational organization comprising over 190 companies, including Sun Chemical Corp., in more than 60 countries and territories.