Deinove

Deinove is a green technology company specialized in development and commercial exploitation of innovative, environmentally friendly, high-performance processes for production of biofuels and other compounds of industrial or pharmaceutical value. The processes developed by Deinove use bacteria with exceptional natural properties - the deinococci .

Deinove was incorporated in late 2006 under the joint impetus of Philippe Pouletty , MD (Managing Partner of the Paris-based private equity firm Truffle Capital), and Miroslav Radman (Professor at Descartes University of Paris, a member of the French Academy of Science and winner of the 2003 Grand Prix INSERM science prize). Miroslav Radman discovered the genetic basis of the extraordinary biodiversity and robustness of the deinococci (the bacteria on which Deinove's innovation strategy is founded) and, in particular, the molecular mechanism which enables Deinococcus radiodurans to repair its genome after the latter has been shattered by ionizing radiation.

Deinove is the only company in the world with an activity based on systematic exploration of the deinococci - a bacterial genus with exceptional biodiversity but which has rarely been studied and never exploited commercially.

By combining the selection of wild-type strains (with natural properties that are already of industrial value) with bacterial engineering, Deinove is building a unique portfolio of intellectual property and innovative biomanufacturing processes. This approach sets Deinove apart from companies that try to design complex genetically modified organisms from simple laboratory bacteria that lack the metabolic properties of industrial interest to start with.

Deinove is aiming to create breakthrough technologies in second-generation biofuel production and green chemistry.

Biofuel production

Deinove's top-priority programme is the development of breakthrough industrial biofuel production processes based on biomass digestion and fermentation by Deinococcus sp. At present, bioethanol is conventionally produced by fermenting the glucose obtained (after a variety of pre-processing steps) via enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass (sugar beet, wheat, corn, sugar cane, etc.). The fermentation itself is generally performed by brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Deinove is leveraging Deinococcus's exceptional properties and is changing the paradigm in bioethanol production. The company is developing integrated processes capable of degrading not only glucose but also lignocellulosic raw materials (whole plants, wood, green waste, etc.). The Deinove processes seek to significantly improve industrial and environmental performance levels.

Green chemistry

The company's second development programme aims at developing applications of deinococci in the field of green chemistry in general and the production of organic acids (such as succinic, lactic, fumaric and butyric acids) in particular. The latter compounds are very important chemical intermediates in the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries. Deinove is exploring novel bioprocesses for compounds of industrial interest that could replace conventional petrochemical processes or biotechnological processes based on bacteria like Escherichia coli.

Research of new antibiotics

Deinove discovered that several Deinococcus strains in its library produced antibiotics and antifungal agents. These preliminary results were encouraging enough to prompt the company to screen its whole collection. In fact, bacteria (and notably certain genera like the actinomycetes) are responsible for most of the currently marketed antibiotics. Infectious disease represents the world's leading cause of mortality. The dramatic increase in antibiotic resistance means that is is essential to rapidly discover and develop a new therapeutic arsenal.