Following the termination of its Telles joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM, Decatur, Illinois / USA; www.adm.com), US bioscience company Metabolix (Cambridge, Massachusetts; www.metabolix.com) has selected a new manufacturing partner for its “Mirel” PHA-based bioplastics. Antibióticos (Madrid / Spain; www.antibioticos-sa.com), a producer of pharmaceutical active ingredients, will produce the resins at its manufacturing site in Leon / Spain.

The agreement with Antibióticos comes six months after agricultural processor ADM decided to end the Telles joint venture, which ADM and Metabolix created in 2006 to commercialise PHA-based bioplastics – see Plasteurope.com of 16.01.2012. ADM stopped producing the bioplastics on behalf of Telles at its plant in Iowa / USA, and Metabolix currently supplies the material to customers from inventories.

Metabolix and Antibióticos have signed a letter of intent, under which the Spanish company will first validate Metabolix’s technology and the companies will then proceed to a contract manufacturing agreement. Antibióticos is expected to begin producing demonstration quantities of Mirel biopolymer resin in early 2013, leading to commercial supply later in 2013.

The partnership “represents a significant step forward in establishing a new supply chain for Mirel biopolymers to serve our customers worldwide”, said Metabolix president and CEO Richard Eno. "In addition, Antibióticos is located in the EU near many of our targeted customers.”

The company reported revenues of USD 900,000 (EUR 733,000) in the second quarter of 2012, compared with USD 200,000 for the same period last year. Revenues comprised grant revenues of USD 500,000 and biopolymer sales of USD 400,000, with the majority of sales to European customers of film grade resin. Net losses decreased to USD 7.9m from USD 10m for the same quarter last year.