BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lygos, Inc., a full-stack producer of specialty chemicals that deliver high-value performance without environmental toxicity, today announced that CJ CheilJedang (CJCJ), a global company based in Seoul that manufactures food, food ingredients, pharmaceuticals, and biopharmaceutics, made a $5 million investment in Lygos in December 2018.
“CJ CheilJedang has been at the forefront of the Korean food industry for the past 60 years because of its unwavering commitment to quality, safety and innovation. The company has an extensive global footprint and significant operational, engineering, manufacturing and logistics experience that will enable us to deliver our products faster than before,” said Eric Steen, PhD, CEO of Lygos. “As we anticipate increasing demand for our Bio-malonate™ products over the coming years, close working relationships with corporations that have global manufacturing capabilities are essential to our success. We are grateful for CJ’s support as we work together to replace harmful petrochemicals with more sustainable, scalable and healthy bio-based solutions for more consumers around the world.”
Lygos’ proprietary technology platform is based on a high-throughput combination of computational modeling, unique microbe engineering and screening, and deep learning to identify and develop renewable bio-routes to chemicals. This modern biotechnology approach, which delivers the benefits of petroleum-based and other industrial chemical technology without environmental toxicity, is designed to drive further innovation, enable local manufacturing and create more sustainable solutions.
About CJ CheilJedang
CJ CheilJedang is the core subsidiary in charge of the food and bioengineering business sectors of the CJ Group. It has led the development of the Korean food industry for the past 60 years and contributed to the development of the bioengineering industry as the nation’s top food company. Launched in 1953 as a food ingredient company, CJ CheilJedang has expanded its business to processed foods. CJ CheilJedang has achieved outstanding growth, quantitatively and qualitatively, in food processing and food ingredients in the food business sector, as well as the bio and pharmaceutical in the bioengineering business sector. The company is striving to go beyond being the No. 1 in Korea to become a global leader in each business sector. CJ CheilJedang will continue to grow and evolve in the food & bio sectors by practicing the spirit of OnlyOne and develop into a global lifestyle company.
About Lygos
Lygos has created a full-stack biological engineering platform focused on organic acid specialty chemicals and bio-monomers. Lygos’ sustainable, bio-based chemicals replace expensive, environmentally degrading alternatives from traditional industrial suppliers, enabling customers to create better, safer products with value-added performance. For more information, visit
www.lygos.com and follow us @LygosBiotech.
