Sumitomo Chemical announced on 2nd April that it invested $30 million in Conagen, a U.S. biotechnology company. The company has conducted joint research with Conagen since 2018 on the biosynthesis of existing chemicals.
The fresh investment will further promote its strategic business alliance with Conagen and develop innovative high functional products and processes by way of synthetic biology.
“In recent years, we have witnessed more and more commercialization of synthetic biology as a result of rapid advances in technology through the fusion of biotechnology and digital technology.
With this progress, we believe that the creation of new businesses can be accelerated by combining synthetic biology with chemical technology, as this helps develop highly efficient, clean, and energy-saving processes, as well as highly functional products that are difficult to manufacture through chemical synthesis alone,” Sumitomo Chemical said in its new release.
In its current Corporate Business Plan, Sumitomo Chemical has identified accelerating the development of next-generation businesses as one of its basic policies, and is building its own innovation ecosystem geared toward new businesses in all of its four priority areas: reduction of environmental impact, healthcare, food, and ICT.
Conagen is a discovery-based biotechnology company whose strengths lie in the use of synthetic biology to enable integrated technological capability from the design and culture of the microorganisms to industrialization of fermentation processes. The company undertakes research and development in a wide range of fields, including functional food materials, healthcare, and flavors and fragrances, and has mass production sites in China and Europe.
Acquisition of Four South American Subsidiaries of Nufarm
On April 1, 2020, Sumitomo Chemical has completed the acquisition of four South American subsidiaries in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, owned by group companies of Nufarm Limited, a leading Australian agricultural chemical company, through Sumitomo Chemical’s wholly-owned subsidiaries in the region.
Sumitomo Chemical is planning to achieve further growth in its Health & Crop Sciences Sector using this acquisition as a strong growth driver in the crop protection business.