Almac, the contract development and manufacturing organization based at Craigavon, UK, has announced its "high level" participation in a synthetic biology project to develop novel routes to chemicals. Other academic and industrial partners include Bangor University of Wales and Hockley International, a Manchester, England-based manufacturer and exporter of environmental health and industrial chemical products.

The research team has received a grant of £1 million from the UK's Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council and Technology Strategy Board. The funding is specifically targeted at bringing a novel chemical produced via an enzymatic route from under-utilized natural oil to the market.

Almac is currently performing the R&D work at its Northern Ireland-based laboratories, partnering with experts from both the university's College of Natural Sciences and Hockley to steer the project over a three year period.

The company said its head of biocatalysis & isotope chemistry, Professor Tom Moody, has cultivated considerable enzyme technology experience and expertise over the past decade, and collaboration in this research is especially important for the development of green processes in this industry.

The work will involve close collaboration between Almac, Hockley and the biocomposites center at Bangor University's School of Biological Sciences.