Dyadic and bYoRNA Announce a Collaboration Targeting the Production of Abundant, Low-Cost mRNA From C1-Cells

JUPITER, Fla. and PARIS, Sept. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dyadic International, Inc. (“Dyadic”) (NASDAQ: DYAI) and bYoRNA SAS ("bYoRNA") today announced that they entered into a development and commercialization agreement to work on disruptive bioproduction technologies that will help exploit the therapeutic potential of messenger RNA ("mRNA"). Dyadic is a global biotechnology company focused on building innovative microbial platforms to address the growing demand for global protein bioproduction and unmet clinical needs for effective, affordable, and accessible biopharmaceutical products and alternative proteins for human and animal health. bYoRNA is a French biotechnology company focused on producing affordable therapeutic mRNA, at scale, for human and animal health.

“I am excited to announce this development and commercialization agreement to explore the potential to utilize our C1 protein production platform to produce high-quality messenger RNA products at lower cost which will be easier to manufacture than in vitro mRNA, making it accessible to everyone, including patients from poorer countries. The global mRNA vaccine and therapeutics market was valued at USD 34.7 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 68.1 billion by 2030, making this an extremely valuable potential opportunity for both companies to enter the rapidly expanding market for mRNA-based vaccines and therapies, said Mark Emalfarb, Dyadic’s Chief Executive Officer. “If this collaboration is successful, Dyadic has the potential to receive certain defined milestone and royalty payments from bYoRNA and the ability to obtain a license to the BRNA platform,” Mr. Emalfarb concluded.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought mRNA technology to the forefront, showing its potential to prevent and treat diseases. Within this collaboration, we will combine our respective technologies to try to express "bio" RNA from Dyadic's eukaryotic C1-cells, to design, develop and commercialize messenger RNA products,” said Pascal Viguié, bYoRNA's Chief Executive Officer.

“We believe that by combining bYoRNA’s novel eukaryotic "bio" RNA platform with Dyadic’s industrially proven C1 protein production platform, we will be able to provide the pharmaceutical industry with a more cost-efficient platform for manufacturing large quantities of lower cost mRNA, enabling access to mRNA vaccines and drugs to a broader global population,” said Thierry Ziegler, bYoRNA’s Chief Technology Officer.

About bYoRNA SAS

bYoRNA SAS is a French biotechnology company focused on developing a cost-efficient and scalable mRNA bioproduction platform for prophylactic and oncological vaccines. mRNA is currently produced in vitro via enzymatic synthesis, an expensive method. Our bioproduction technology will help mass produce long, GMP-grade mRNA in a cost-efficient and scalable fashion by leveraging processes in engineered living cells.

By bringing down the production cost of mRNA and simplifying the supply chain to make it local and more resilient, bYoRNA will help make mRNA vaccines available to the population of emerging countries. By producing longer, naturally modified mRNA, bYoRNA will contribute to the emergence of novel mRNA-based modalities.

To learn more about bYoRNA and its commitment to helping produce mRNA vaccines in greater volumes and at lower cost, please visit https://www.byorna.bio.

About Dyadic International, Inc.

Dyadic International, Inc. is a global biotechnology company focused on building innovative microbial platforms to address the growing demand for global protein bioproduction and unmet clinical needs for effective, affordable, and accessible biopharmaceutical products and alternative proteins for human and animal health.

Dyadic’s gene expression and protein production platforms are based on the highly productive and scalable fungus Thermothelomyces heterothallica (formerly Myceliophthora thermophila). Our lead technology, C1-cell protein production platform, is based on an industrially proven microorganism (named C1), which is currently used to speed development, lower production costs, and improve performance of biologic vaccines and drugs at flexible commercial scales for the human and animal health markets. Dyadic has also developed the Dapibus™ filamentous fungal based microbial protein production platform to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacture of low-cost proteins, metabolites, and other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, such as food, nutrition, and wellness.

With a passion to enable our partners and collaborators to develop effective preventative and therapeutic treatments in both developed and emerging countries, Dyadic is building an active pipeline by advancing its proprietary microbial platform technologies, including our lead asset DYAI-100 COVID-19 vaccine candidate, as well as other biologic vaccines, antibodies, and other biological products.

To learn more about Dyadic and our commitment to helping bring vaccines and other biologic products to market faster, in greater volumes and at lower cost, please visit https://www.dyadic.com.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including those regarding Dyadic International’s expectations, intentions, strategies, and beliefs pertaining to future events or future financial performance, such as the success of our clinical trial and interest in our protein production platforms, our research projects and third-party collaborations, as well as the availability of necessary funding. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements because of various important factors, including those described in the Company’s most recent filings with the SEC. Dyadic assumes no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. For a more complete description of the risks that could cause our actual results to differ from our current expectations, please see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Dyadic’s annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, as such factors may be updated from time to time in Dyadic’s periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s website and at www.dyadic.com.