Who We Are

The zuChem Mission

zuChem develops proprietary technologies for the manufacture of glycochemicals for use in the food, specialty and fine chemical markets. The zuChem approach is unique, combining new proprietary technologies with the more traditional synthetic techniques. zuChem researchers have a proven track record in developing and implementing scalable, industrial quality processes.

Glycochemicals are key components of many drugs and drug intermediates. Many are impractical or even impossible to make using current chemical production methods, resulting in high cost and limited availability. Because of this, their use has been restricted in drug discovery and development. Our focus on the synthesis of these compounds will enable the discovery of new drugs, particularly antimicrobials, anti-virals, and anticancer compounds. Our proprietary synthesis methods also reduce the production costs of many glycochemical-based specialty and fine chemical products.

The Importance of Sugars and Carbohydrates

Sugars are among the most fundamental chemicals found in nature. They are important in human health, nutrition, and in the regulation of a variety of processes in our bodies. In nature, certain sugars are made in large quantities through a series of complex biochemical reaction. While industry has been able to extract these sugars to make commodity products, such as table sugar, modifying them by traditional chemistry methods has proven either too expensive or impossible for all except the simplest of modifications.

For decades researchers have known there was a tremendous commercial opportunity to be unlocked by making and modifying sugars. Products like the sweetener sucralose or the pharmaceutical building block L-ribose represent the tip of the iceberg of the commercial opportunity for glycochemicals products. Despite their biological and commercial importance, the scaleable, inexpensive production of such non-commodity sugars has been extremely difficult to date. With new breakthroughs in biotechnology and chemistry, the promise of glycotechnology is now within reach.

zuChem Technology Platform

zuChem’s technology platform is a combination of proprietary process technology and know-how which is equally useful in the production of nutritional/food ingredients and in pharmaceutical discovery programs. The Company converts commodity chemicals into a series of sequentially higher-value products. zuChem has chosen to focus on the nearer-term chemicals opportunities and has segregated the drug opportunities into zuSyn, a wholly owned subsidiary of zuChem. This is because of differing risk/reward profiles, time to market, and investment strategies in the pharmaceutical area. The Company plans on financing zuSyn separately once it has met certain development milestones. This document focuses on zuChem’s opportunities with respect to the core technology platform and its applications in the food ingredients and fine chemicals/pharmaceuticals intermediates markets.