Israeli startup Enzymit achieves breakthrough in hyaluronic acid production

The Israeli biochemical company Enzymit announced on Tuesday it succeeded in a-synthetic production of hyaluronic acid (HA). A cell-free manufacturing process reduced much of the complexity, time and cost.

Hyaluronic acid is a natural biopolymer found in skin, joints, connective and nervous tissue. It is widely used in skin care products, as well as being recognized for its therapeutic benefits, which include aiding eye health, healing wounds and in rheumatology.

"Our success in synthesizing hyaluronic acid demonstrates the viability of a new enzyme design to stimulate cell-free bioproduction of specialized chemicals, replacing obsolete and unsustainable production methods," CEO of Enzymit, Gideon Lapidoth PhD, said.

"Our cell-free approach to hyaluronic acid manufacturing eliminates the need for complex downstream processing and significantly reduces overall costs, while enabling easier and more efficient large-scale production," Lapidoth continued.

Traditional hyaluronic acid production using animal tissue has involved considerable safety, consistency and ethical concerns, while other fermentation-based methods still require complicated purification processes and high production costs. 

Enzymit's cell-free process promised an efficient and cost-effective alternative. It has started to work on increasing its production capacity and developing a next generation of hyaluronic acid enzymes that can use even less expensive raw materials.

"We are already receiving considerable interest from manufacturers looking to incorporate our hyaluronic acid variants into skincare products at more affordable prices for the general public," Vice President Business Development at Enzymit, Markus Klinger, said.

"We are encouraged by the initial positive reception and are continually optimizing our processes while forming strategic partnerships to introduce our products into new industries,” Klinger added.