ADM and SGI Form Omega-3 DHA Strategic Partnership

21 May 2014 --- Archer Daniels Midland Company and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. have announced that the two companies have entered into a long-term agreement to commercialize Omega-3 Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) from algae. As part of the agreement, Omega-3 DHA will be produced and marketed throughout the world by ADM’s Foods & Wellness and Animal Nutrition groups.

DHA is a long-chain Omega-3 fatty acid that has been studied for its role in brain, heart and eye health. While it is typically found in fish and seafood products, extracting DHA directly from algae grown in fermentation tanks yields a highly purified form of DHA, which can then be used as a dietary supplement for humans and in animal feed.

“This partnership is an important example of ADM’s ongoing efforts to enhance returns by strengthening our portfolio of higher-margin products,” said Greg Dodson, general manager, ADM Foods & Wellness. “There is significant demand for Omega-3 DHA products. We are impressed with the leading-edge technologies that SGI uses to quickly turn commercial opportunities into realities, and we look forward to working with them to use those capabilities to further enhance our current portfolio of nutritional ingredients.”

“We are pleased to be working with ADM, a global leader in human and animal health and nutrition,” said J. Craig Venter, Founder and CEO, SGI. “This agreement is a major accomplishment for SGI as it represents commercial validation of our science and technology. We are eager to continue to work with ADM to develop other unique and nutritionally sound food and nutraceutical ingredients.”  

“The ADM partnership with SGI will prove beneficial for both companies by capitalizing on the strengths of SGI’s technologies and know how, while using ADM’s significant scale and production capabilities to commercialize important products demanded by our customers,” said Brent Fenton, president, ADM Animal Nutrition. “The end result will be an improved animal nutrition portfolio, which will deliver value both to our customers and our shareholders.”

“We are excited to have this partnership with ADM that will allow them to provide a real alternative to what had been a very short list of plant-derived DHA ingredients,” said Jon Getzinger, senior vice president at SGI. “Having a real choice in the market will provide manufacturers the opportunity for broader inclusion of this essential nutrient in food, beverage, nutraceutical and animal feed applications.”

SGI, a privately held company founded in 2005, is dedicated to developing and commercializing genomic-driven solutions to address a wide range of global challenges. The company is focused on several key research and business programs including: developing new synthetic DNA products and technologies through its subsidiary, SGI-DNA; algae biofuels; new and improved food and nutritional products; and clean water technology. SGI is also involved in synthetically derived vaccine development through Synthetic Genomic Vaccines Inc. (SGVI), a business unit co-founded with the J. Craig Venter Institute; and in developing sustainable crops such as castor and sweet sorghum and agricultural products through AgraCast, a company co-founded with Plenus S.A. de C.V.