P&G And Genencor Team Awarded For Unique Production Of Subtilisin Protease

An interdisciplinary team of scientists from Genencor International and Procter & Gamble has been announced as the recipients of the 1999 ACS Award for Team Innovation. P&G scientists Drs. Manuel Venegas and Michael Showell, and Genencor scientists Drs. Dave Estell, Richard Bott and Thomas Graycar, developed a unique strategy to produce variants of subtilisin protease with substantially improved activity and stability versus available alternatives.

The companies' partnership dates back to 1984, when they formed a strategic alliance to develop enzyme technology for use in P&G's global laundry and cleaning products. Genencor creates and manufactures novel industrial enzymes and other biochemicals (See related article: Is There An Enzyme In Your Future?).

The ACS award, established in 1994, recognizes excellence in multi-disciplinary teams that are central to innovation and commercialization. To be eligible, a team's output must have resulted in a product or process of special value to society that could only be achieved by professionals working together across disciplines. Previous winners of the award include teams from Corning, DuPont, Merck Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co.

"This joint team can be very proud of their accomplishments," said Dr. Nabil Sakkab, vice president of R&D at P&G. "The resulting high performance enzymes are benchmark examples for 'intelligent' new components for cleaning products. They raise the cleaning and hygiene profile of laundry detergents towards new dimensions, which are not achievable by any other means," Sakkab added.

Genencor brought the tools of modern biotechnology, namely protein engineering, randomized mutagenesis and high-throughput predictive screening assays to the team in developing new products. P&G's scientific group set performance criteria for consumer benefit, developed specific optimum detergent formulations and provided feedback on the performance of the new variants in specific conditions.

"The tools of modern biotechnology allow us to recreate the conditions of a washing machine in a test tube and augment natural processes to create new proteins with properties that meet specific customer needs," said Tom Mitchell, president and CEO of Genencor. "The active ingredients we create have new capabilities. We use nature's biodiversity to meet human needs."

For more information: Jack Huttner, Genencor International Inc., 925 Page Mill Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94304. Tel: 716-256-5272.