Wareham Development In the News

Friday, August 31, 2007
Biofuel startup Amyris grabs more Emeryville space
San Francisco Business Times - by Ron Leuty

Amyris Biotechnologies Inc. is chewing up space as fast as it hopes microorganisms will someday produce biofuels.

The Emeryville company is taking 70,000 square feet in Wareham Development's EmeryStation East -- and it may hold on to 20,000 square feet of space, most of that in Wareham's EmeryStation North.

Amyris, launched in 2005 by University of California, Berkeley, professor Jay Keasling and others, develops microorganisms that the company believes will produce renewable biofuels and pharmaceuticals. It has 92 employees, said Jack Newman, a founder and senior vice president of research.

The growth comes as Amyris looks to shift its initial project -- microbes that can make an affordable, effective version of the antimalarial treatment artemisinic -- from its labs to a contract manufacturer. That partner would have the ability to produce the compound at the 100-ton level and efficiently distribute it to the developing world.

"We're trying to figure out who to go with," Newman said.

The project is in collaboration with UC Berkeley and the Institute for OneWorld Health of San Francisco, with $42.6 million in funding for all three organizations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The same fermentation technology is the platform for Amyris' effort to develop a gasoline substitute that contains more energy than ethanol, costs and pollutes less and is compatible with today's cars, Newman said. As a result, he said, Amyris is shifting researchers from its antimalarial project to biofuels and bringing more R&D firepower on board.

Amyris' first commercial product -- which could hit the market within three years -- could be a car fuel, diesel fuel or airplane fuel, Newman said, depending on the market.

The latter has captured the attention of Virgin conglomerate founder Sir Richard Branson.

Amyris is backed by $20 million, raised last fall from Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Texas Pacific Group Ventures.

The company's new space in EmeryStation East will be half R&D, half office, Newman said, and Amyris could opt to keep its current 20,000 square feet, giving it 90,000 square feet in Emeryville.

"Two-and-a-half years ago, we were looking at 8,000 square feet, wondering how we'd fill it," Newman said. "Already our projections are looking like 90,000 is low."

The Amyris lease, combined with a 36,000-square-foot deal inked by Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Inc., puts 245,000-square-foot, spec-built EmeryStation East at nearly half full, said Wareham spokesman Tim Gallen.

Wareham expects to formally open the building in mid-September, Gallen said.

rleuty@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4939

About Wareham Development

Wareham Development is committed to the long-term economic and environmental vitality of the communities where we do business. During the planning process, we work closely with city and state agencies to ensure that each project provides maximum benefit to its surrounding community. And, unlike many developers who build projects only to sell them, we retain ownership of the majority of our developments, many of which have come to define the thriving technology corridor between the Bay and Richmond-San Rafael bridges.

The Wareham vision encompasses the spark and promise of small companies on the verge of growth, and large corporations whose fortunes span the globe. We are proud of our associations with all of our tenants, and feel deeply privileged to play a role in their success.