Senomyx was an American

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

company that developed food additives. The company claimed to have "

reverse engineered Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

" human taste and aroma

receptors Receptor may refer to: *Sensory receptor, in physiology, any structure which, on receiving environmental stimuli, produces an informative nerve impulse *Receptor (biochemistry), in biochemistry, a protein molecule that receives and responds to a n ...

. It was founded by

Lubert Stryer Lubert Stryer (born March 2, 1938, in Tianjin, China) is the Emeritus Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor of Cell Biology, at Stanford University School of Medicine. His research over more than four decades has been centered on the interplay of light ...

and Paul Nevsky in 1998. On 17 Sept 2018, private Swiss company

Firmenich Firmenich SA is a private Swiss company in the fragrance and flavor business. It is the largest privately owned company in the field and ranks number two worldwide. Firmenich has created perfumes for over 125 years and produced a number of well-k ...

completed the acquisition of Senomyx.

History

Prominent biochemist

founded Senomyx in 1999. In May 2001, Stryer returned to his professorship at Stanford University and resigned from Senomyx, but continued to be the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. Around the year 2001, Senomyx patented several flavor enhancers by using "proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems", which have been previously expressed in human cell culture, in HEK293 cells. HEK293 cells are a cell line widely used in biological and medical research, immortalized through a

genetic modification Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

removed from the original human embryonic kidney cells taken from a healthy,

aborted Aborted is a Belgian death metal band formed in 1995 in Waregem. The group currently consists of vocalist, founder and only constant member Sven de Caluwé, guitarist Ian Jekelis, bassist Stefano Franceschini and drummer Ken Bedene. Although t ...

human

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal dev ...

in the early 1970s.Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting
p.81 ,

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is one of six main centers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The current Director of CBER is Peter Marks, ...

, May 16, 2001 The company's stock declined after PepsiCo reversed a trial rollout of Senomyx ingredients in their sodas in 2016.

Products

Senomyx's products work by amplifying the intensity of flavors. Because very small amounts of the additive are used (reportedly less than one part per million), Senomyx has no obligation to report their ingredients to the consumer. Senomyx products fall under the broad category of "artificial flavors." For the same reason, the company's chemicals have not undergone the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

safety approval{{citation needed, date=February 2021. Senomyx's MSG-enhancer gained the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status from the

Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) is a food industry trade group based in the United States. FEMA was founded in 1909 by several flavor firms in response to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Founding members ...

, an industry-funded organization, in less than 18 months, "received a positive review by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, which determined that there were no safety concerns with the use of the Company's savory flavor ingredients in foods. The positive assessment by

JECFA The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is an international scientific expert committee that is administered jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). ...

is expected to expedite regulatory approvals in a number of countries, particularly those that do not have independent regulatory approval systems."

References

Biotechnology companies of the United States Companies based in San Diego American companies established in 1999 Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq