BioMerieux to partner in enzyme efficiency drive

BioMerieux is to partner in an efficiency drive targeting an essential enzyme, it has emerged.

Sloning BioTechnology, which is to work with BioMerieux on the programme, revealed the intended collaboration this week.

It is hoped that the firms will together be able to develop a number of gene variants suitable for diagnostic applications.

Dr Heinz Schwer, chief executive officer of Sloning BioTechnology, said: "We are very excited about this collaboration.

"It gives Sloning the opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of our enabling technology in the field of protein engineering and synthetic biology."

He added that there is likely to be a "significant commercial impact" for any variants resultant from the collaborative research.

BioMerieux is to adopt the task of identifying a significantly enhanced enzyme from a gene library developed by Sloning BioTechnology.

The firm stresses that it sees itself as an element within a local and global community, with a responsibility to act as a "partner in public health".