Bagsvaerd, Denmark
December 30, 2014

As another year at Novozymes is coming to a close, here are some of 2014’s news highlights.

1. Novozymes is golden – 5 times in a row
   2014 was off to a glittering start, with RobecoSAM, the specialists in sustainability investment, awarding Novozymes a top Gold Class rating in The Sustainability Yearbook 2014.​  Novozymes was the only company in the biotechnology industry sector to receive this honor. In September, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) announced that Novozymes received 86 points out of 100 within the Chemical Industry Sector. The score is in the top 3 percentile of sustainability leaders in this new and highly competitive sector.
    
2. Building a better future for bio-ag
   In February, Novozymes and Monsanto received the required regulatory approvals to make The BioAg Alliance a reality.  This marked a true beginning for sustainable microbial technology in agriculture.  Since then, Novozymes decided to establish a new R&D campus in North Carolina dedicated to bio-agriculture. The facility has at year end hired more than 80 new scientists.
    
3. Yield discovery enzymes used to produce more than one-third of U.S. fuel ethanol
   Bioenergy sales enjoyed strong growth during 2014, and this was mainly driven by continued positive penetration of Novozymes’ yield discovery solutions, Avantec®, Spirizyme® Achieve and Olexa®. In Q3, sales were up by 23% in LCY compared with the first nine months of 2013.
    
4. Reducing the sting of daily drug dosing
   Diabetes patients often endure the recurring inconvenience of daily shots.  Thanks to Novozymes’ VELTIS albumin technology platform, once-weekly dosing is now possible as the active life of drug is extended. In March, the EU approved GlaxoSmithKline’s new once-weekly diabetes drug, based on VELTIS. This drug secured approval in the US in April.
    
5. Company fit for a president
   In May, Novozymes’ CEO Peder Holk Nielsen joined other international business leaders at the White House. President Obama hosted the event to discuss investing in the United States. Just one month earlier, Peder met China’s President Xi Jinping during a Danish State Visit to Beijing.
    
6. Simplifying detergent production with enzymes
   In October, Novozymes launched Medley, a set of five ready-made, pre-stabilized enzyme blends for liquid detergents – the first ever blend of enzymes introduced for the broad detergent market. Targeting small and mid-size detergent producers, the Medley solutions are composed with more than 50 years’ experience, and can simplify production, free up working capital and save money - all while producing a more efficient detergent. 
    
7. Cellulosic biofuel  - on the brink of commercialization
   On December 17th, Raízen announced that they have been producing biofuel at their first cellulosic ethanol unit in Brazil since November. Novozymes developed the enzyme technology optimized for Raízen’s process. 2014 has been an important year for cellulosic biofuel.  In September, LIBERTY, the U.S.’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, was inaugurated, and later that month, Brazil’s GranBio began production at Bioflex 1, the first commercial-scale advanced biofuels plant in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Website: https://www.novonesis.com/en

Published: December 30, 2014