Montpellier, 31 May 2017 (6:30pm CEST) - DEINOVE (Alternext Paris: ALDEI), a biotech company that discovers, develops and produces high-value compounds from rare bacteria, notably from the Deinococcus genus, announces the start of the second phase of the animal nutrition R&D project initiated with FLINT HILLS RESOURCES in November 2015.

FLINT HILLS RESOURCES, a subsidiary of KOCH INDUSTRIES - one of the largest private companies in the world - is a leader in refining, petrochemicals and biofuels in the United States.

The project, initiated in 2015 and financed by FLINT HILLS RESOURCES, aims to develop a nutritional supplement for animal feed. This first phase successfully selected several bacterial strains from DEINOVE's library producing the targeted compounds. Scheduled to be completed by end of 2017 the second phase will aim to:

• Produce the additives in sufficient quantities to test their beneficial effects on the target animal species and analyze the results obtained;
• Optimize the fermentation parameters;
• Define the technical and economic conditions for the development of the production process.

On the basis of efficacy tests, one or two strains may be selected for the industrialization step. If successful, both partners will consider the terms and conditions of a licensing agreement for the technology developed during this project for an actual commercialization.

"We are very satisfied with the progress of this collaborative project and the initial results obtained. We look forward to the efficacy testing stage," stated Kevin GRAY, Innovation Director of FLINT HILLS RESOURCES.

Emmanuel PETIOT, CEO of DEINOVE, added: "The progress of this project confirms our choice: animal nutrition is a growing market and seriously looking for innovation. Thanks to the wealth and performance of our micro-organisms, our solutions can concretely enable manufacturers to increase the value of their products."

ABOUT FLINT HILLS RESOURCES, LLC

Flint Hills Resources, LLC, through its subsidiaries, is a leading refining, chemicals and biofuels company with operations primarily in the Midwest and Texas. Its manufacturing capability is built upon six decades of refining experience, and the company has expanded its operations through capital projects and acquisitions worth more than $13 billion since 2002. Flint Hills Resources' subsidiaries produce and market gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, ethanol, biodiesel, olefins, polymers, intermediate chemicals, as well as base oils, corn oil and dried distillers grain.Flint Hills Resources operates ethanol plants in Arthur, Fairbank, Iowa Falls, Menlo and Shell Rock, Iowa, Fairmont, Nebraska, and Camilla, Georgia. The plants have a combined annual capacity of 820 million gallons of ethanol.The refining business operates refineries in Minnesota (Rosemount) and Texas (Corpus Christi), with a combined crude oil processing capacity of more than 600,000 barrels per day. The petrochemical business includes production facilities in Illinois and Texas. The asphalt business produces and markets product in the Midwest. A subsidiary owns an interest in a lubricants base oil facility in Louisiana.The company is based in Wichita, Kansas, and its more than 5,000 employees strive to create value for customers and society.More information about the company is available at FHR.com.

ABOUT DEINOVE

DEINOVE (Alternext Paris: ALDEI) is a biotech company that discovers, develops and produces compounds with industrial value from rare microorganisms, for the healthcare, nutrition and cosmetics markets.These innovative production methods represent a sustainable and competitive alternative.For this, DEINOVE relies on two key assets:

• A unique strain bank with 6,000 rare bacteria that have not yet been exploited, mainly of the Deinococcus genus;
• A genetic, metabolic and fermentation engineering platform that enables them to customize these natural micro-factories, transforming them into new industry standards.

Based in Montpellier, DEINOVE employs approximately 50 employees and has nearly 160 international patent applications. The Company has been listed on Alternext since April 2010.More information on www.deinove.com

Source: http://www.deinove.com/sites/default/files/pdf_news/170531_pr_deinove_fhr_progress.pdf