Senomyx is an American

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

company that develops

food additive Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities. Some additives, such as vinegar ( pickling), salt ( salting), smoke ( smoking) and sugar ( crystallization), have been used f ...

s. The company claims 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 accompl ...

" human taste and aroma

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

. It was founded by Lubert Stryer and Paul Nevsky in 1998. On September 17, 2018, private Swiss company Firmenich completed the acquisition of Senomyx.

History

Biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

Lubert Stryer founded Senomyx in 1998. In May 2001, Stryer returned to his professorship at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

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 Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cell (biology), cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. After cells of interest have been Cell isolation, isolated from living tissue, ...

, in HEK293 cells. HEK293 cells are a

cell line An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism that would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells ...

widely used in biological and

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

, 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 th ...

removed from the original embryonic kidney cells 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 Vinay Pras ...

, May 16, 2001 The company's stock declined after

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

reversed a trial rollout of Senomyx ingredients in their sodas in 2016.

Products

Senomyx's products work by amplifying the intensity of flavors. This is done by expressing taste receptors and measuring receptor signaling in response to additives. 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. Senomyx's MSG-enhancer gained the

generally recognized as safe Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) is a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts under the conditions of its intended use. An ingredient with a GRAS d ...

(GRAS) status from the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, an industry-funded organization. It received a positive review by the Joint FAO/

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

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 World Health Organization is extremely influential in many facets of society. The positive assessment by JECFA is expected to expedite regulatory approvals in a number of countries, particularly those that do not have independent regulatory approval systems. Based on the company's use of HEK293 cell lines, in 2011 the pro-life organization Children of God for Life issued an action alert calling for a boycott of companies that partnered with Senomyx. This led to a 2012 bill in the Oklahoma legislature, proposed by

Ralph Shortey Ralph Allan Lee Shortey (born February 16, 1982) is an American convicted sex offender and former politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2010, defeating several challengers in pri ...

, that would have prohibited the "manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses".

References

{{reflist Biotechnology companies of the United States Companies based in San Diego American companies established in 1998 Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq