National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR)
zuChem entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (the NCAUR Ag-Lab) in August 2002 to commercialize a novel manufacturing process for a sugar polyol used by the food industry as an alternative sweetener, D-mannitol.

Under the agreement, zuChem and NCAUR Ag-Lab jointly fund development of the mannitol bioprocess.  The work is conducted at the NCAUR Ag-Lab facility in Peoria, Illinois.  zuChem holds exclusive commercialization rights to technology developed as a result of the program.

The NCAUR Ag-Lab is the largest of four USDA federal utilization centers and a world-class bioscience research facility.  Its mission is to find new uses and markets for U.S. agricultural commodities.  It has been an innovator in the evolving technology transfer process since Congress authorized its creation in 1938 to find new uses for agricultural products.  Beginning with the method for the mass production of penicillin, the NCAUR Ag-Lab has built a 60-year legacy of successful invention and commercialization.  For more information, visit the NCAUR website at www.ncaur.usda.gov.

Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation
zuChem has received a research grant from the Biotechnology Research and Development Organization (BRDC) in Peoria, Illinois. The grant provides zuChem with research funding to commercialize a fermentation approach to manufacture xylitol.  The BRDC also provides additional funding for the USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR Ag-Lab) to support a scientific collaboration with zuChem on the xylitol project.  Under the agreement, zuChem holds exclusive commercialization rights to technology developed as a result of the program.

BRDC is a research management corporation that is owned by its corporate sponsors, each of whom has a stock equity position in the consortium.  These equity partners include Agricultural Research and Development Corporation, Sygen International PLC, BASF Corporation, Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Maxygen, Inc., Monsanto Company, Wyeth, Cargill Dow LLC, The Dow Chemical Company, Mallinckrodt Inc. For more information, visit the BRDC Website at www.biordc.com

Hydrios Biotechnology Ltd.
zuChem entered into an agreement in July 2003 with Hydrios Biotechnology Ltd. of Helsinki, Finland for the acquisition of a portfolio of patents developed by Hydrios and the Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering at Helsinki University of Technology.  The agreement transfers to zuChem all rights to a worldwide patent portfolio of microbial fermentation methods of producing D-mannitol, a reduced calorie sweetener.

Hydrios Biotechnology is a Helsinki University of Technology spin-off, founded in November 2000. It focuses on the development of novel bioprocesses with an emphasis on microbial fermentation. More information is available at www.hydrios.com.

Ingenza Ltd.
In February 2003, zuChem entered into a research collaboration agreement with Ingenza Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Under the agreement, zuChem funds activities at Ingenza to assist in the development of zuChem's proprietary biocatalytic processes.

Ingenza is a highly innovative and growing biotechnology company founded in October 2002 and based in Edinburgh UK, which is identifying and improving biocatalysts for broad industrial application.  Ingenza has identified and patented specific new biocatalytic processes for the manufacture of single enantiomer chemicals, which it is developing internally and in partnership with chemical manufacturers for applications in the fine chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries.  Ingenza¹s bioprocesses are highly competitive with established chemical manufacturing methods and are environmentally acceptable, less hazardous to operate and generate little or no waste.

For more information, visit the Ingenza website at www.ingenza.com