Current Flavor Programs
Flavor Ingredient Programs
We are currently pursuing the discovery and development of new flavor ingredients in the savory, sweet, salt, and cool taste areas, as well as ingredients that block bitter taste.
Savory Flavors Ingredients Program
The primary applications of the Company's Savory Flavors are to reduce or replace monosodium glutamate (MSG) and to combine our Savory Flavors with other ingredients to create unique new savory blends. Using our high-throughput savory receptor-based assay system, Senomyx has identified six novel Savory Flavors that amplify the taste of naturally occurring glutamate and may be used to reduce or replace added MSG and inosine monophosphate, or IMP, an expensive enhancer of MSG taste. All of Senomyx's Savory Flavors have GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) regulatory approval, which allows commercialization in the U.S. and other countries. Some also have approval in additional countries including China, the world's largest MSG market. Nestlé SA, the world's largest food company, is currently marketing new and reformulated products that incorporate Senomyx's Savory Flavors in countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
Sweet Taste Program
The primary goal for Senomyx’s Sweet Taste Program is to identify flavor ingredients that allow a significant reduction of sweeteners in food and beverage products while maintaining the desired sweet taste. Senomyx has two partners for this program – PepsiCo, the world’s second-largest food and beverage business, and Firmenich, SA, a global leader in providing ingredients and flavor systems to major consumer companies.
Using our high-throughput sweet receptor-based assay system, Senomyx discovered S2383, a novel enhancer of the high-intensity sweetener sucralose that enables up to a 75% reduction of sucralose in product prototypes without compromising the sweet intensity or producing off-tastes. Sucralose is a high-intensity sweetener used in a wide variety of beverages and foods such as confectionaries, baked goods, desserts, and dairy products, as well as over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare products and dietary supplements. Use of S2383 may also result in an improved taste compared to sucralose alone when incorporated into a flavor system. S2383 has been granted a GRAS regulatory designation that allows commercialization in the U.S. and other countries. Firmenich is currently marketing S2383 in North America and Latin America.
Senomyx has also discovered S6973, an enhancer of sucrose (table sugar) that enables up to 50% reduction of sugar in numerous product prototypes while retaining the natural taste. Reducing the quantity of sucrose in products could be advantageous for consumers seeking to limit sugar in their diets and for manufacturers that would like to offer products with improved nutritional profiles without compromising on taste. Senomyx received a GRAS designation for S6973 in October 2009. The GRAS designation allows usage of S6973 in baked goods, cereals, gum, condiments and relishes, confectioneries and frostings, frozen dairy offerings, fruit ices, gelatins and puddings, hard and soft candy, jams and jellies, milk products, and sauces. During the first quarter of 2010, the GRAS status for S6973 was extended to instant coffee and tea, and imitation dairy products. Firmenich SA has exclusive rights to commercialize S6973 worldwide in virtually all food product categories, as well as specific beverage applications and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products. Firmenich initiated commercialization of S6973 in the second quarter of 2011.
Most recently, Senomyx advanced S9632, a new sucrose enhancer, into the development phase. The development phase includes safety studies and other activities intended to support regulatory filings in the U.S. and elsewhere. Taste tests have demonstrated that S9632 can enable reduction of up to 50% of the sugar in product prototypes without compromising taste. S9632 also possesses advantageous physical properties that are beneficial for a broad range of beverages and foods, and its expected utilization should be complementary to S6973.
We have also identified enhancers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that that enable up to a 33% reduction of HFCS while retaining the desired sweetness profile. High fructose corn syrup is a widely used sweetener, especially in North America. It is used in products such as baked goods, yogurts, sauces and condiments, beverages and concentrates, granola and energy bars, and canned and frozen fruits. Additional evaluations and taste tests with the new HFCS enhancers are ongoing.
Senomyx also has an initiative to discover and develop natural high-potency sweeteners. Current activities include continued expansion and high-throughput screening of plant-derived samples from the Company’s natural products library, identification of the components that show significant activity in our proprietary screening assay, and scale-up of individual components of interest for taste tests.
Bitter Blockers Program
The primary goals of Senomyx's Bitter Blocker Program are to reduce or block bitter taste and to improve the overall taste characteristics of foods, beverages, and ingredients. Reducing bitterness would be valuable for the many manufacturers who want to improve the taste characteristics of foods, beverages, healthcare items, and other products.
Senomyx received GRAS regulatory designations for two Bitter Blockers, S6821 and S7958, in November 2010. S6821 has demonstrated activity against bitter tasting foods and beverages that include soy and whey proteins, menthol, caffeine, cocoa, and Rebaudioside A (stevia). S7958, a related bitter blocker with similar functionality, has alternative desirable physical properties that may be useful for these or other product applications. S6821 is currently under evaluation by Senomyx collaborators for potential future commercialization.
Salt Taste Program
The goal of our Salt Taste Program is to identify flavor ingredients that allow a significant reduction of sodium in foods and beverages yet maintain the salty taste desirable to consumers. Senomyx is exploring the role of a number of proteins that may be integral to the sensation of salty taste. This high-priority effort involves chemistry and biology approaches, including assessing components of the Company’s proprietary database of proteins found in taste buds. Senomyx believes that discovery of the protein or proteins that function as the salt taste receptor could lead to identifying an enhancer of salt taste.
Cooling Flavors Program
The goal of Senomyx's Cooling Flavor Program is to identify novel cooling flavor ingredients that do not have the limitations of currently available agents such as weak cooling characteristics, bitter off-tastes, limited solubility, and non-proprietary status. Senomyx has developed a proprietary high-throughput screening assay using the receptor associated with cool and menthol taste sensations. Using this assay, we discovered new cooling flavors that provided a taste proof-of-concept and display cooling properties that exceed those of commonly used agents. During the fourth quarter of 2010 Senomyx extended the research period of its Cooling Flavors collaboration with Firmenich for an additional two years. Senomyx and Firmenich are currently evaluating promising candidate cooling flavors in product prototypes for use in specific applications.
