Metabolix restructures operations

Metabolix, Inc. announced that it is implementing a strategic restructuring under which Yield10 Bioscience will become its core business with a focus on developing disruptive technologies for step-change improvements in crop yield to enhance global food security. As part of the restructuring, Metabolix will eliminate approximately 45 positions in its biopolymer operations and corporate organization, and will pursue the sale of its biopolymers business assets. The immediate reduction in force represents approximately 50% of the company's current workforce. After the restructuring and wind-down of the biopolymers operation, the company's annual cash burn rate is expected to be in the range of $5 million compared to approximately $25 million prior to the restructuring. Consistent with its new strategy, the company plans to rebrand itself as Yield10 Bioscience in the coming months.

Metabolix is actively engaged in efforts to secure additional capital resources over the next several weeks to support the implementation of its new Yield10-focused strategy.

Experts forecast that food production must be increased by over 70% in the next 35 years to feed the growing global population which is expected to increase from 7 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050. This is an already daunting challenge that may be even more difficult to achieve due to global climate change and its potential impact on regional growing conditions throughout the world. Yield10 is leveraging Metabolix's extensive track record of innovation based around optimizing the flow of carbon intermediates in living systems. In plants, Yield10 is working on new approaches to improve fundamental elements of plant metabolism to deliver step-change increases in crop yield through enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and directed carbon utilization.

The company believes that Yield10 technologies are broadly applicable to food and feed crops. In the near term, Yield10 is focusing its efforts on canola, soybean and corn—working independently and seeking agricultural industry partners to validate and commercialize new traits and identify gene editing targets in these key crops.

Yield10 is based on two proprietary technology platforms developed by Metabolix and its academic partners. The "Smart Carbon Grid for Crops" focuses on gene targets that enhance carbon capture from photosynthesis and regulate the flow of carbon to plant biomass, roots and/or seed. Four lead traits impacting seed yield, C3003-C3006, have been developed using camelina as a model system for C3 oil seed crops and these traits are now being progressed into C3 oil seed crops such as canola and soybean. The "T3 Platform" is being used to identify novel global transcription factor (GTF) genes, or master switches, that can be leveraged with new gene editing approaches to significantly increase plant yield. Using the T3 Platform, the Company has generated data in switchgrass as a model system for C4 crops such as corn, and plans are being developed to introduce these new traits into high performing corn lines.