The Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH), the US-based nonprofit pharmaceutical company, Amyris Biotechnologies, and sanofi-aventis have entered into an agreement for the development of semisynthetic artemisinin, a key ingredient in first-line malaria treatments. This partnership will build on technology originated by Professor Jay Keasling at the University of California, Berkeley.

This collaboration aims to create a complementary source of non-seasonal, high-quality and affordable artemisinin to supplement the current botanical supply. Under the terms of the agreement, OneWorld Health, Amyris and sanofi-aventis will work jointly to develop and design pilot and commercial-scale manufacturing processes, with the goal of introducing low-cost, semisynthetic artemisinin into the supply chain and ACTs in 2010.

Published in Drug Discovery & Development magazine: Vol. 11, No. 3, March, 2008, p.32.