Category: News

Peoria, IL (March 25, 2021) – The Midwest Bioprocessing Center (MBC), a leading producer of bio-based chemicals for human health and nutrition, announced today that it has acquired the technology, product line and production assets of iActive™ Naturals from the Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation (BRDC).

Products currently include FSG33 and FCG33, two oil-based ferulates derived from soybean oil and coconut oil respectively.  These natural products combine the unique cosmetic properties of ferulic acid, with the ease of formulation of lipids.

“FSG33 and FCG33 are highly effective at providing broad spectrum UV absorption protection and antioxidant activity.  They help bring anti-wrinkling and antiaging properties to lotions and other cosmetic health and beauty products,” said Dr. David Demirjian, Manager and co-founder of the Midwest Bioprocessing Center.  “They can also be an effective SPF booster when used in sunscreens.”

The patented enzyme-based production technology for the iActive products was originally invented at the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research located in Peoria, IL.  Its development was funded in part by the Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation.

“We are excited that the Midwest Bioprocessing Center will be commercializing this technology,” said Dr. Grant Brewen, President of the BRDC.  “Their bioprocess expertise make them an ideal partner for taking these innovative products to their next stage of growth.”

MBC plans on making FSG33 and FCG33 immediately available for commercial sale and is working on additions to the product line including a hemp oil-based product.

For ordering, information, and samples of iActive FSG33 or FCG33, or to learn about other products from MBC such as its zuCarb™ line of rare sugars email products@mwbioprocessing.com.

About the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Center for Agricultural Research Center (NCAUR).

The focus of the Renewable Products Technology Research Unit at the NCAUR (Peoria, IL) is to develop new technologies for converting renewable agricultural materials into high value chemicals, enzymes, and polymers.  Researchers in the unit use a variety of chemical, microbial, biochemical, and genetic approaches to address the need for new sustainable and environmentally acceptable value-added products.

About the Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation

The Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation is a biocollaborative organization dedicated to improving the United States technical competitiveness by commercializing scientific discoveries made in participating government and university agricultural laboratories.

About the Midwest Bioprocessing Center, LLC.

The Midwest Bioprocessing Center is a start-up biotechnology company formed in 2019 to bring important new bio-based technologies to market for human health and nutrition.  MBC’s proprietary brands include the zuCarb™ Rare sugar platform, the ThermoCat™ stable biocatalysts, and the iActive ferulated lipids and oils.  The Company’s proprietary technology platform allows production and modification of carbohydrates, glycochemicals, and lipids that would otherwise be impractical or impossible to make.  The Midwest Bioprocessing Center is located in Peoria, IL and housed in the PeoriaNEXT Innovation Center. The Midwest Bioprocessing Center has facilities to carry out enzyme biocatalyisis, fermentation, chemical synthesis, and product purification; and can produce gram to kilogram scale quantities in-house. For more information please contact:

products@mwbioprocessing.com

801 W Main St

Peoria, IL 61606

Tel: (630) 230-0349

Peoria, IL (September 1, 2020) – The Midwest Bioprocessing Center (MBC), a leading producer of unique carbohydrates for human health and nutrition, announced today that it has received a $183,138 Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health in support of its project entitled “Engineering Methylotrophic Yeast for in vivo Production of Deoxysugars from DHAP”.  

The goal of the project is to develop new ways to synthesize hard-to-make deoxysugars, an important class of carbohydrates useful in the discovery of new pharmaceuticals, production of nutritional products, and other applications.  For example, some deoxy-sugars are natural components of the most commercially successful antibiotics and are key in their antimicrobial activity. Unfortunately, only a small number of deoxy-sugars are commercially available.  More are needed to help develop novel antibiotics which can help treat antibiotic resistant pathogens.  The deoxy-sugar l-fucose is also a key potential building block for many antiviral drugs and in the production of Human Milk Oligosaccharides used in infant formula.

This is a very important but largely underdeveloped area of research” said Dr. Leila Aminova, the Principal Investigator on the Project and MBC’s Director of Product Development.  “The technology we are developing will allow dozens of new deoxy-sugars to be made available to researchers exploring the development of new and improved antibiotics.” 

The new deoxysugars will ultimately be available as part of the Company’s zuCarb™ rare sugar catalog and will also be used internally for the development of new pharmaceuticals and nutritional products being developed at MBC.   For more information on zuCarb™ rare sugars or partnering opportunities please visit www.mwbioprocessing.com or contact the Company at products@mwbioprocessing.com.

About Midwest Bioprocessing Center, LLC.

The Midwest Bioprocessing Company is a start-up biotechnology company formed in 2019 to bring important new technologies to market for human health and nutrition.  MBC’s proprietary technology includes the zuCarb™ Rare sugar platform which allows the production and modification of carbohydrates and glycochemicals that would otherwise be impractical or impossible to make.  By expanding the number of sugar building blocks and components that are available to the marketplace—many of which are currently not available or prohibitively expensive—together with the synthetic tools to utilize these new sugars in human health and nutrition applications, the Midwest Bioprocessing Center enables both the discovery of breakthrough drugs as well as the cost-effective commercial production of many glycochemicals.  The Midwest Bioprocessing Center is located in Peoria, IL and housed in the PeoriaNEXT Innovation Center. The Midwest Bioprocessing Center has facilities to carry out enzyme biocatalyisis, fermentation, chemical synthesis, and product purification; and can produce gram to kilogram scale quantities in-house. For more information please contact:

David Demirjian

products@mwbioprocessing.com

801 W Main St

Peoria, IL 61606

Tel: (630) 230-0349

END

Peoria, IL (July 27, 2019) – The Midwest Bioprocessing Center (MBC), a leading producer of unique carbohydrates for human health and nutrition, announced today that it has acquired the zuCarb™ Rare Sugars technology platform from zuChem Inc.  Founded in 2003, zuChem’s long-term mission was to develop novel carbohydrate technology for a variety of food and pharmaceutical applications.  This included the development of its zuCarb™ technology platform to produce rare sugars, activated sugars, and technology for glycodiversification of small molecules, proteins, and oligosaccharides. zuChem has now focused its commercial efforts and resources on the launch of its commercial xylitol program and transferred the zuCarb™ technology platform to the Midwest Bioprocessing Center.

Much of the technology was initially developed by Leila Aminova, Ph.D. and her colleagues who joined MBC from zuChem.  “I am excited to be continuing the work we began at zuChem” said Dr. Aminova . “Access to this technology gives us dozens of products we can immediately start providing to pharmaceutical and academic researchers for drug discovery and glycobiology.  It also allows us to carry out custom synthesis of sugars and glycoconjugates for a variety of applications”

For more information on zuCarb™ rare sugars please visit the Company’s website at www.mwbioprocessing.com.

About Midwest Bioprocessing Center, LLC.

The Midwest Bioprocessing Center is a start-up biotechnology company formed in 2019 to bring important new technologies to market for human health and nutrition.  MBC’s proprietary technology includes the zuCarb™ Rare sugar platform which allows the production and modification of carbohydrates and glycochemicals that would otherwise be impractical or impossible to make.  By expanding the number of sugar building blocks and components that are available to the marketplace—many of which are currently not available or prohibitively expensive—together with the synthetic tools to utilize these new sugars in human health and nutrition applications, the Midwest Bioprocessing Center enables both the discovery of breakthrough drugs as well as the cost-effective commercial production of many glycochemicals.  The Midwest Bioprocessing Center is located in Peoria, IL and housed in the PeoriaNEXT Innovation Center. The Midwest Bioprocessing Center has facilities to carry out enzyme biocatalyisis, fermentation, chemical synthesis, and product purification; and can produce gram to kilogram scale quantities in-house. For more information please contact:

David Demirjian

products@mwbioprocessing.com

801 W Main St

Peoria, IL 61606

Peoria, IL (June 30, 2019) – The Midwest Bioprocessing Center (MBC), a leading developer of bioprocess technologies for human health and nutrition, announced today the opening of its research operations at the PeoriaNEXT Innovation Center in Peoria, IL.

“We are excited to locate our Company at the PeoriaNEXT Innovation Center,” said Dr. David Demirjian, Manager and co-founder of MBC.  “The facility provides us with state-of-the art laboratory space to help us fulfill our mission to provide new bioprocess solutions to customers and partners”

The MBC labs house the Company’s molecular biology, biocatalysis and fermentation capabilities and allow the production of novel compounds from gram to kilogram scale using MBC’s proprietary technologies.  MBC will commercialize products through both catalog sales and custom synthesis for customers and clients in the pharmaceutical and nutritional research space.

For more information on MBC technology and custom bioprocess solutions visit the Company’s website at www.mwbioprocessing.com. 

About Midwest Bioprocessing Center, LLC.

The Midwest Bioprocessing Center is a start-up biotechnology company formed in 2019 to bring important new technologies to market for human health and nutrition.  The Midwest Bioprocessing Center is located in Peoria, IL and housed in the PeoriaNEXT Innovation Center. The Midwest Bioprocessing Center has facilities to carry out enzyme biocatalyisis, fermentation, chemical synthesis, and product purification; and can produce gram to kilogram scale quantities in-house. For more information please contact:

David Demirjian

products@mwbioprocessing.com

801 W Main St

Peoria, IL 61606