Amyris : Leads the Way

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Amyris CEO John Melo brought together Portugal Prime Minister Antonia Costa and other Portugal government officials with some of the top innovation leaders of Silicon Valley to discuss a new investment in innovation, including life sciences. The luncheon was hosted at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, courtesy of Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Later that day, at the nearby offices of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Amyris (Nasdaq:AMRS) signed an agreement with a leading university in Portugal, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) Porto Campus,, to develop new products and applications using waste from fermentation and to further advance Amyris's software and AI capabilities. The project consortium agreement, valued at up to approximately $50 million over several years, was set up with Portugal's trade and investment agency, AICEP and more information can be found here. Marking this important step to advance biotech innovation in Portugal were a number of distinguished attendees including Portugal Prime Minister Antonia Costa, the Portuguese Secretary for the International Economy, Eurico Brilhante Fias, and John Doerr, chairman of KPCB and a board member of Amyris.

Amyris, the Bay area-based biotech company, got its start working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to successfully develop a cure for malaria, and has since expanded the use of its world-class technology to develop a range of high quality ingredients using only sustainable sources. Its latest success is Biossance™, the clean beauty brand that has become a best seller at Sephora with plans to expand into new markets.

Following the luncheon at Stanford University with innovation leaders, members of the Portuguese government and representatives of UCP: (L-R) Miguel Athayde Marques, VP of UCP; Amyris President & CEO, John Melo; Dennings Professor, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and former US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice; Full Professor of Culture Studies at the School of Human Sciences UCP, Isabel Capeloa Gil; AICEP Chairman, Luis Castor Henriques; and US Ambassador to the Portuguese Republic, George Glass.

At the signing of the agreement to explore innovative, scientific ways to use waste from fermentation to develop new products and applications: (L-R) Amyris President & CEO, John Melo, AICEP Chairman, Luis Castor Henriques and Full Professor of Culture Studies at the School of Human Sciences UCP, Isabel Capeloa Gil.

Special guests show their commitment to sustainability and innovation at the signing of the Amyris agreement with UCP to discover new, sustainable ways to use waste from fermentation: (L-R) and Eurico Brilhante Fias, Portuguese Secretary for the International Economy, Portugal Prime Minister, Antonia Costa, and John Doerr, chairman of KPCB and a board member of Amyris.