N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (NCT) is a natural bioactive compound attracting considerable interest from researchers for its potential role in healthy liver fat metabolism, gut barrier function, and mitochondrial activity.
Using eXoZymes' AI-driven platform, a new and proprietary approach to biomanufacturing of NCT - with all the scale-up advantages of an exozyme biosolution - has been developed: Progressing from concept to lab scale validation with gram-scale production in only 5 months and at a fraction of normal SynBio R&D cost.
NCTx was created as a spin-out company to commercialize the NCT technology and is now able to provide early access partners, under material transfer agreement with product samples. NCTx and eXoZymes are actively looking to increase the number of partners.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / July 22, 2025 / Today, eXoZymes Inc. (NASDAQ:EXOZ) ("eXoZymes") - a pioneer of AI-engineered enzymes that can transform sustainable feedstock into nutraceuticals, medicines, and other essential chemicals - together with its spinout NCTx, announced a breakthrough in biomanufacturing using their cell-free exozyme platform: From proof-of-concept to lab scale validation with gram-scale production in only 5 months.
This critical technical milestone validates the exozyme biosolution process design for NCT, enabling it to overcome a longstanding bottleneck in sourcing the NCT compound from nature, where it occurs only in trace amounts. Naturally found in quantities less than 0.014% per hemp seed, NCT has not been available at commercially viable qualities and quantities, severely limiting its otherwise immense market potential.
Successful completion of this milestone enables eXoZymes' team to initiate a comprehensive assessment of the purity profile. Separately, data collected on process-related parameters provides foundational de-risking information for the biomanufacturing economic assumptions and allows eXoZymes to expand the number of early access partners.
"Going from the original proof-of-concept to lab scale validation, our goal was to make a first version of a biosolution that can produce at least one gram of NCT per batch, which we now have delivered on with an impressive 96% reaction yield. Not only does this biomanufacturing breakthrough prove the technical proficiency of our platform - but we have also accomplished this in only 5 months and with a limited budget. A timeline that's unheard of in SynBio or anywhere, really." states co-founder and VP of Development at eXoZymes, Dr. Paul Opgenorth, and continues, "We're currently testing this initial batch for the exact amount and the purity, which we will release as soon as the internal report is finished."
View a video of Dr. Paul Opgenorth's comments, right here.
CEO of eXoZymes, Michael Heltzen, adds, "This biomanufacturing breakthrough of producing NCT is a massive accomplishment by our team and our exozyme platform! Not only can we produce NCT way more efficiently than any current methods, but we've also reached this milestone in record time - an ability to drive the development and initial validation at unprecedented speeds. This is the perfect showcase for the potential of our 'powered by eXoZymes' platform, which can be used to build biosolutions for 100s of different and valuable chemicals.
Hetlzen elaborates, "Remember, NCT is just our first of more 'powered by eXoZymes' natural products, that can both be taken to market as nutraceuticals, or in optimized or analog versions that has a pharmaceutical potential."
Demand for bioactive ingredients in functional food is a $216 bn market and yearly growing at 7.6% CAGR globally. NCT has attracted growing interest from researchers for its potential role in supporting healthy liver fat metabolism, gut barrier function, and mitochondrial activity-all of which are associated with broader metabolic and inflammatory processes. Preclinical studies have shown:
Enhanced fat breakdown and mitochondrial output in liver cells
Modulation of gut-related gene expression linked to intestinal balance for better gut health. For more information, please go to nctx.one or see video interviews here.
Call for early access partners
By partnering with eXoZymes, early access partners gain access to the world's leading cell-free state-of-the-art biomanufacturing platform, which empowers organizations to innovate faster and more efficiently. Interested parties can explore via this link, including the different partnership models:
https://exozymes.com/partners
About eXoZymes
Founded in 2019, the company has developed a biomanufacturing platform that - as a historic first - offers the tools and insights to design, engineer, control and optimize nature's own natural processes to produce chemical compounds, enabling the company's partners to upgrade traditional petro-chemical production methods with a new commercially scalable, sustainable, and eco-friendly alternative: exozymes.
Exozymes are advanced enzymes enhanced through AI and bioengineering to thrive in a bioreactor without using living cells. Exozymes can replace toxic petrochemical processes and inefficient biochemical extraction with sustainable and scalable biosolutions that transform biomass into essential chemicals, medicines, and biofuels.
By freeing enzyme-driven chemical reactions from the limitations imposed by cells, exozyme biosolutions eliminate the scaling bottleneck that has hampered commercial success in the synthetic biology (SynBio) space, making exozymes the next generation of biomanufacturing.
While the company, eXoZymes Inc., has introduced "exozymes" as a scientific concept, they are not trademarking the concept, as they view it as a new nomenclature for wide adoption for this next generation of biomanufacturing that eXoZymes aims to pioneer and be the market leader of.
Learn more on exozymes.com
eXoZymes Safe Harbor
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the company's future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "goal," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "strategy," "future," "likely," "potential," or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding the company's strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of eXoZymes' quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K, and other documents filed by eXoZymes from time to time by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and eXoZymes assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. eXoZymes does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.
eXoZymes contact
Lasse Görlitz, VP of Communications
(858) 319-7135
press@exozymes.com
SOURCE: eXoZymes
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