LIFE SCIENCES
Novo Nordisk Funds Biotech Alternative Funds Biotech Alternative
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has granted € 94 m. to the (DTU) to put Denmark in the lead of the global race to develop a sustainable, bio-based industry. (www.novonordiskfonden.dk).
The Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Biosustainability (www.biosustain.dtu.dk) has been established to find sustainable bio-based alternatives to the chemically-based plastic and other materials used in so many of the products that pervade our lives. According to OECD estimates, biotechnology can produce some 80% of pharmaceuticals and 35% of the chemical compounds used industrially today.
Headed by renowned bioengineer, Prof. Bernhard Palson from the University of California, San Diego, the centre will conduct basic research in industrial biotechnology to uncover ways to make sustainable alternatives to an entire array of products ranging from food ingredients to toys, fuel and sophisticated pharmaceuticals.
Industrial research partners will include some of Denmark’s largest names, including Carlsberg, Danisco, Chr. Hansen, Novozymes and Novo Nordisk. In addition, the Centre will have Swedish satellites at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
Cell Factories
The Centre’s research directors are a multi-disciplinary team of experts in the fields of meta-genomic systems, bacterial cell and fungal cell factories, plant biochemistry and molecular bioscience modeling.
Their mission: to bring it all together, “to develop the next generation of cell factories, one-stop systems for integrating and producing the bio-based chemicals of choice through computer-aided design”.
Currently, while significant advances have been made in the various disciplines, integration is required to enable the manufacture of sustainable products based on biotechnology.
The Centre aims to play a defining role in metabolic engineering, computer-aided design of cell factories, bio-based chemistries, meta-genomics, and the expression of genes in microbes.
Furthermore, the NNF Centre seeks to become a globally recognized, preferred partner for academic and industrial organizations for applied biotechnology. It also seeks to develop partnerships and research collaborations with academic institutions and industry in Denmark and abroad.
Industrial Partnerships
The NNF Center for Biosustainability will develop educational and research collaborations with academic partners both locally at DTU, nationally, e.g. with other NNF Centers, and internationally, targeted at world leaders working within the focus area of the NNF Center for Biosustainability, as well as partners with activities bordering the NNF Center’s activities.
The NNF Center for Biosustainability will also establish partnerships with the industrial sector around the world.
Dr. Ulf J. Johansson, Chairman of the Board of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, believes that the economic impact of the Centre’s work could be formidable. “The Centre has the potential to generate ground-breaking results and new scientists, forming the basis for green growth, many new Danish jobs and strong export opportunities.”
This grant follows the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s funding of two other major projects in 2010: grant to the Centre for Metabolic Research and a €45 m. grant to the Danish Stem Cell Centre, both at the University of Copenhagen.
