UNITED STATES
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FORM
Current Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
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Item 1.01 — Entry into Material Agreement.
eXoZymes Inc. (the “Company”) has been selected to participate in the Meta-PURE initiative, a National Science Foundation (“NSF”) funded project under the CFIRE (Cell-Free Systems Toward Increased Range of Use-Inspired Applications) program aimed at transforming the scalability and accessibility of cell-free systems to expand real-world applications. The project coalition of partner enterprises is being led by The Georgia Institute of Technology. Meta-PURE will build a suite of standardized, interoperable ‘modules’ for cell-free biomanufacturing, enabling plug-and-play modules that can rapidly shift between use cases - from high-value nutraceuticals, to essential chemicals or pharmaceuticals. Meta-PURE is part of the CFIRE program and supported under Cooperative Agreement No. 2452482.
eXoZymes will serve as the key industrial partner with Meta-PURE, with an approximate $3 million share of the total project award of $9.2 million. The project will commence July 1, 2025, and will run for three years.
eXoZymes will develop a cell free ATP-generating module - essentially a cell-free power plant - that fuels different chemical production modules to be developed now and in the future, supporting cell-free manufacturing of several market-relevant targets. eXoZymes’s technology permits decoupling the power module from the production module, enabling faster reaction times, greater product yields, and making the development of production modules more accessible for our coalition partners across a broad spectrum of synthetic biology applications. The other coalition partners will develop targets spanning a wide range of complexity and markets, relying on eXoZymes’ plug-and-play cell-free power plant, which will be tested and optimized to both purified and lysate-based exozymes biosolutions to ensure compatibility and performance.
eXoZymes’ role also includes developing a production module for santalene, an extremely high-value fragrance compound, traditionally extracted from sandalwood for use in aromatherapy and traditional medicine formulations. Derivates of santalene have been investigated in pharmaceutical use cases.
Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) | Exhibits |
Exhibits | Description of Exhibit | |
99.1 | Press release dated June 26, 2025 regarding participation in CFIRE program | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL Document) |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: | June 26, 2025 | EXOZYMES INC. | |
By | /s/ Fouad Nawaz | ||
Fouad Nawaz, | |||
Vice President, Finance |