Metabolix gets R&D funding in Saskatchewan

Metabolix Inc., a bioscience company that develops clean, sustainable solutions for the plastics industry, has been awarded $203,000 in research funding by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture to develop oilseed crops, specifically Camelina sativa, as a potential source for bioplastics.

The grant, provided through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), was given to the company’s Saskatoon-based Metabolix Oilseeds Inc. subsidiary.

According to Metabolix, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Camelina is a good candidate as a production vehicle for PHA polymers.

“The award is yet another example of the positive support that we have received from the Canadian and Saskatchewan governments for crop research and development in Saskatchewan,” said Johan van Walsem, president of Metabolix Oilseeds. “We will use this generous funding for the evaluation of an advanced gene expression system in Camelina which has the potential to accelerate the development of commercial bioplastic production.”