Amyris, Inc. has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Givaudan, a leader in the fragrances and flavors industry, headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland. Under the agreement, Givaudan will develop a derivative of Biofene to be used as a building block for one of the proprietary fragrance ingredients in Givaudan’s palette. Biofene is the chemical, farnesene, produced using Amyris’s bio-based technology and production platform.

The use of Biofene supports Givaudan’s goal of utilizing cost-effective and sustainably sourced materials. Upon successful achievement of certain success criteria, Amyris will supply Biofene to Givaudan to derive a proprietary fragrance ingredient for the global fragrances and flavors market. Givaudan intends to market and distribute the final product as early as 2012, and Amyris will share in the economic value created from the use of Biofene.

“Our collaboration with Givaudan reinforces our commitment to supply No Compromise solutions to the fragrances and flavors market,” says John Melo, CEO of Amyris. “This project provides yet another example of the breadth of products that can be derived from Biofene–our first-to-market renewable building block.”

“As an innovator as well as the industry’s largest purchaser of raw materials, we have a responsibility to shape and lead the sustainability approach in the fragrances and flavors industry,” says Gilles Andrier, CEO of Givaudan. “Continued investment into research and development is a key pillar of our 5-year business strategy and through collaborations with suppliers like Amyris, we can deliver real and impactful solutions.”