FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Spring House, PA - March 21,2001. The Catalyst Group (TCG) has announced the initiation of the second phase of its groundbreaking multi-client study, The Biotechnology Revolution: Biopolymers and Biochemicals Come of Age for chemical and polymer clients.

The use of biotechnology, especially whole cell fermentation, is not new to the chemical industry. Bioethanol has been manufactured on a large-scale by fermentation (>6 MIL mt/yr in the US) for decades, as has amino acids, acrylamide, fructose (>1 MIL mt/yr), and aspartame (artificial sweetener). However, most fermentation and enzyme biocatalysts have, to date, been restricted to higher valve applications. Simply put, with a few exceptions, cost vs. return in using chemical catalysis for commodity higher volume processes has traditionally been more attractive than using biocatalytic routes. This is about to change! See Figure 1.

A number of new technologies and drivers are impacting our societal needs that will promote the more rapid adoption of biocatalysis. Did you know DuPont has a stated corporate goal: "We have a corporate target of 25% of revenues derived from renewable feedstocks by 2010!"

During the last decade, new technologies like mutagenesis, combinatorial screening, cloning, and genomics have dramatically changed the speed and ability to artificially mutate enzymes and whole cell genetics to improve their efficiency. This developed technology can and is available to be applied to engineering new chemical and polymer processes.

Most recently, (CW 3/14/01 p23-27) this has been publicized by Dow Cargill's announcement that it will bring on-stream a 140,000 mt/yr polylactic acid (PLA) polymer plant in Blair, NE. Equally, DuPont has announced it will scale-up and bring on-stream its biotech route to 1,3 propandiol in 2003. However, there is much more behind Dow's ground swell as Bayer, BASF, Eastman, Millennium Plastics, Novamont, Mitsubishi, Kenebo, Kuraray, and others are all involved in this biopolymer movement. In biochemicals, there is also considerable ongoing investment.

The Catalyst Group's study provides a technology roadmap on the risks and rewards of investing in biotechnology, from both a technical and commercial development viewpoint. TCG's technology benchmarking study allows subscribers to reduce their investment risks by developing an understanding of the winners and losers in technology, timing, and development applications toward end-uses. It compares state-of-the-art, competing technologies, examines stage-of-development and the resulting market growth rates in leading biotechnology applications.

The study will focus on the current biotechnology toolbox, emerging technologies, and implications for the chemical and polymer industries. It will provide an indepth guide for organizations contemplating or investing in biotechnology. For further information, contact Clyde Payn, CEO, The Catalyst Group: 215-628-4447 (ext.1120), cfp@catalystgrp.com.

The Catalyst Group is recognized as a leading international technical and business consulting organization providing ongoing services to companies involved in every aspect of the catalyst and process industries.

The Catalyst Group's assessment is based on information obtained from the public domain as well as internal sources and industry interviews. TCG's analysis will report factual information, as well as hypotheses/interpretations based on this information, in order to derive a reasonable set of expectations. Factors could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements and The Catalyst Group undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.