Antibióticos SA, a leading producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is planning to start producing Mirel biopolymer resin at its manufacturing facility in Leon, Spain.

Metabolix, the developer of Mirel, is working with Antibióticos to conduct a series of validation production runs to demonstrate the fermentation and recovery of Mirel biopolymer resin on full production-scale equipment.

The companies plan to enter into a definitive contract manufacturing agreement for Mirel biopolymers based on the validation production runs, as well as completion of economic and engineering feasibility studies.

“The agreement with Antibióticos represents a significant step forward in establishing a new supply chain for Mirel biopolymers,” said Richard P. Eno, president and chief executive officer of Metabolix. “Antibióticos is located near many of our targeted customers in Europe and we’re impressed with its track record, technical expertise and facilities. Its equipment is well-suited to the manufacturing process used to produce Mirel biopolymers at commercial scale.”

Mirel biopolymers are based on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) which occur naturally in micro-organisms and plants. They are biobased, biodegradable and suitable for a wide range of product applications. Metabolix is currently supplying Mirel to customers from existing inventory of approximately 5 million pounds.