Mycosynthetix

Mycosynthetix Discusses Fungi on Radio In Vivo

admin — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:34:17 +0000

Mycosynthetix CEO Dr. Cedric Pearce was featured on the May 8, 2013 edition of Radio In Vivo, a weekly broadcast that features in-depth interviews with the researchers who make the Research Triangle of North Carolina one of the world’s leading hubs of scientific research and development. In the interview, Dr. Pearce discusses the origins of Mycosythetix, the exciting role of fungal metabolites in drug discovery today, anti-cancer projects, and much more.

Use the player below to stream the program, or download the show in mp3 format.

Dr. Cedric Pearce on Radio In Vivo, May 8, 2013 on WCOM 103.5 FM

New Website Launched

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:19:06 +0000

Mycosynthetix is pleased to present our new website. If you encounter any problems using our website, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Mycosynthetix Celebrates 10 Years

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:06:19 +0000

We are pleased to celebrate 10 years of Mycosynthetix. We look forward to further developing the potential for world-changing natural products from the fungal kingdom in the coming decade.

Mycosynthetix Awarded 2 Therapeutic Discovery Project Grants

admin — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:00:46 +0000

Mycosynthetix, Inc has been awarded two Therapeutic Discovery Project Grants by the IRS. The grants are for projects that “showed significant potential to produce new and cost-saving therapies, support jobs and increase U.S. competitiveness.” More information is available on the IRS website.

The grants were awarded for the following projects:
New Antibiotics for TB from Unusual Fungi
New Cancer Medicines from Unusual Fungi

Antimalarial Constituents of Microorganisms

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:08:05 +0000

Mycosynthetix CEO, Dr. Cedric Pearce, and colleagues presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy in Tampa, Florida this July. Their presentation focused on the antimalarial compounds which have been discovered within microorganisms, such as the fungi in the Mycosynthetix library.

Ryan Baker, Anthony Nguyen, Jacqueline Salm, Charles Harter, Matt Lebar, Laurent Calcul, Jeremy Beau, Jaime H. Noguez, Raymond Chow, Tina Mutka, Dennis Kyle, Alberto Van Olphen, Cedric Pearce, Lilian Vrijmoed, Ka-Lai Pang, Bill Baker. Antimalarial Constituents of Microorganisms. The 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, Tampa, Florida. July, 2010

Green Ethanol from Biomass? Verenium Looks to Mycosynthetix Fungi

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:52:25 +0000

Hillsborough, NC (July 14, 2010) — As a structural component of all plants, cellulose is the most abundant organic molecule on the face of the earth. You may know it as dietary fiber on ingredient panels – lignocellulosic biomass like plant leaves and stalks are full of it. Researchers know it as a renewable feedstock to produce cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from fuel by up to 85% relative to petroleum-based fuels. A major challenge in making ethanol from plant biomass is breaking down cellulose into simple sugars. In an agreement recently signed with Verenium, researchers at Mycosynthetix Inc. are searching for enzymes (a specialized type of protein that catalyzes chemical reactions) in samples of fungi.

Typical filamentous fungus, found living on many natural substrates and in the Mycosynthetix collection.

Scientists at Mycosynthetix will be screening samples from their library of over 55,000 fungal species to identify new enzymes to be used by Verenium to produce cost-effective biofuels. Mycosynthetix CEO, Dr. Cedric Pearce adds, “Fungi are the most prolific degraders of plant biomass in nature and are expected to hold the keys to unlocking the potential of cellulose as a renewable feedstock.”

Making ethanol from cellulose – cellulosic ethanol – rather than from starch allows for the manufacture of biofuel without affecting the food supply. The seeds of a corn plant can be collected as a food source and the residual biomass (cobs, stalks and leaves) used to make cellulosic ethanol, while still leaving enough plant material behind to maintain soil fertility. Dedicated energy crops, such as fast growing trees and switchgrass, could also be cultivated for fuel production on land that is not used for food production.

About Mycosynthetix
Mycosynthetix is a green chemistry company that owns one of the largest collections of filamentous fungi in the world and uses them as a source of new medicines and green agricultural chemicals. Mycosynthetix has established an in-house program focused on cancer and neglected diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and leishmaniasis. Mycosynthetix collaborators include The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, The Ohio State University, University of South Florida and University of Illinois at Chicago. These programs are funded in part from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute for Allergy and infectious Diseases, and Medicines for Malaria Venture. Mycosynthetix currently owns the rights to commercialization of a patented, natural herbicide, Mevalocidin, derived from one of its fungi. Mycosynthetix is excited about using its fungal collection to develop new technologies for biofuels applications. For more information on Mycosynthetix, visit http://www.www.mycosynthetix.com.

About Verenium
Verenium Corporation is a leader in the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, an environmentally-friendly and renewable transportation fuel, as well as high-performance specialty enzymes for applications within the biofuels, industrial, and animal health markets. The Company possesses integrated, end-to-end capabilities and cutting-edge technology in pre-treatment, novel enzyme development, fermentation and project development for next-generation biofuels. Through Vercipia, a 50-50 joint venture with BP, the Company is moving rapidly to commercialize cellulosic technology for the production of ethanol from a wide array of non-food feedstocks, including dedicated energy crops, agricultural waste, and wood products. In addition to the vast potential for biofuels, a multitude of large-scale industrial opportunities exist for the Company for products derived from the production of low-cost, biomass-derived sugars.

Verenium’s Specialty Enzyme business harnesses the power of enzymes to create a broad range of specialty products to meet high-value commercial needs. Verenium’s world class R&D organization is renowned for its capabilities in the rapid screening, identification, and expression of enzymes-proteins that act as the catalysts of biochemical reactions. For more information on Verenium, visit http://www.verenium.com.

Contact:
Cedric Pearce, Ph.D., CEO
Mycosynthetix, Inc.
(919) 245 0600; (919) 630 9335.
cpearce@.mycosynthetix.com

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Mycosynthetix Awarded an SBIR Grant to Work on New Tuberculosis Antibiotics

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:43:52 +0000

Hillsborough, NC (May 29, 2009) — Mycosynthetix, Inc., a privately-held Hillsborough biotechnology company, was recently awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the project New Tuberculosis Antibiotics from Filamentous Fungi.

This work is a continuation of an established project with Professor Scott Franzblau at The Institute for Tuberculosis Research at the University of Illinois Chicago, in which fifteen thousand fungi were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the growth of the bacterium which causes TB. For the new project approximately sixty Mycosynthetix fungi shown to be lethal towards Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the preliminary work will be investigated further as a potential source for new medicines. TB is a global health treat made worse by the emergence of drug-resistance and kills someone every 20 seconds according to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO). TB is second only to HIV as the leading infectious killer of adults worldwide. The grant will provide funds for a one year proof of principle study which will involve scientists at both Mycosynthetix and The Institute for Tuberculosis Research.

About Mycosynthetix

Mycosynthetix owns one of the largest collections of fungi in the world and uses them as a source of new medicines and agricultural pesticides. Mycosynthetix has established an in-house program focused on neglected diseases and in addition to the current project addressing TB, work on the discovery of new anti-malarial products is ongoing in collaboration with scientists at the University of South Florida, the University of Hong Kong and Magellan BioScience Group; this latter project is funded by the Medicines for Malaria Venture in Geneva, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.www.mycosynthetix.com.

About The Institute for Tuberculosis Research

The goal of The Institute for Tuberculosis Research is to discover and develop new effective, low-cost therapeutics for the treatment of tuberculosis. It comprises thirty scientists and support staff led by Professor Scott Franzblau and is housed in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois Chicago. Seehttp://www.uic.edu/pharmacy/research/itr/ for further information.

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Mevalocidin – novel natural herbicide under development

admin — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:23:31 +0000

Mycosynthetix is currently developing Mevalocidin, a new herbicidal natural product from fungal fermentation, for use in organic farming. The US Patent for Mevalocidin (PDF) was issued on July 1st, 2008. Dow AgroSciences LLC of Indianapolis and Mycosynthetix Inc have entered into a royalty-bearing agreement for Mycosynthetix to develop and market this herbicide.

Contact Dr. Cedric Pearce, CEO, at cpearce@.mycosynthetix.com for further information.